#redemption is sought after not earned

[cienie-isengardu]

Honor: Bi-Han’s disillusion vs Kuai Liang’s idealism

Did you notice how Bi-Han in the previous timeline barely talks about honor in contrast to his younger brother?

Like in Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Bi-Han does not describe himself as honorable man or part of honorable clan, as in his own introduction he calls himself mortal, then thief and assassin before Lin Kuei warrior and Sub-Zero

When accused by Raiden for putting Earthrealm in danger, only says "I was just earning my living" - considering how he balances between death and life, as he either fulfill incredible difficult missions or he will be killed for failure sounds to me more like "I'm trying to survive" kind of argument.

The Elder Sub-Zero mentions honor only when facing the Grandmaster

"Grandmaster, in honor of the Lin Kuei, I bring you this sacred Map of Elements."

as Lin Kuei custom demands and MK11 Noob Saibot's BIO points out Wraith's desire to reclaim the honor that was forcibly taken away from him

Mortal Kombat 11: "Shadow of the Netherrealm. In life, Noob Saibot was known as Sub-Zero. Unjustly murdered by Scorpion, he was resurrected by Quan Chi and granted power over darkness, but as Quan Chi’s slave. Now, Quan Chi is dead. Noob Saibot is finally free to reclaim the honor that was stolen from him."

and that is basically all? None of Noob’s intro dialogue directly uses this word but honor (and honoring someone or something or alternatively, dishonor) is one of Kuai Liang's constant used term, from 

Mortal Kombat 9

"[...] assuming Bi-Han's identity is the best way to honor him."

or

"I am his family and clan! I fight for his honor!"

Mortal Kombat X

"Our honor is indeed stained. Please. Sit."

&

"After you and I were freed from Quan Chi's control, I sought out my clan. I had hoped rebellion from within would have quashed the Grandmaster's plans. But Sektor had realized his father's vision. The Lin Kuei had been fully cyberized. I pledged to kill Sektor and his followers. Reform the Lin Kuei and restore our honor."

&

"When I finally killed Sektor, I discovered the Lin Kuei had not sacrificed its honor with the Cyber Initiative. We had abandoned it long before."

 to Mortal Kombat 11

Erron Black: That's some outfit. Sub-Zero: It honors Lin Kuei tradition.

or

Liu Kang: I admire your discipline, Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero: And I your honor, Liu Kang.

or

Mileena: You're so cold to me, Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero: Because you are utterly devoid of honor. Mileena: Who needs honor when you have power?

or

Sub-Zero: Can Tarkatans be redeemed? Baraka: My tribe seeks no redemption. Sub-Zero: Then it has no honor.

or 

Sub-Zero: You serve Shao Kahn. Kollector: And I am well compensated. Sub-Zero: Wealth without honor is pointless.

to name few examples.

And this seems to be carried out to the new timeline even though the games don't exploit much this difference between brothers, the Bi-Han’s disillusion vs Kuai Liang’s idealism. Previous timeline gives the feeling Elder Sub-Zero was more aware of Lin Kuei's true nature, as he witnessed Grandmaster and Quan Chi's deal that resulted in death of Scorpion's clan but Kuai Liang would not believe Lin Kuei could be responsible until he found a hard evidence how wrong he was. Now, one brother sees Lin Kuei servitude as enslavement while the other blindly believes and chose to honor the tradition passed down for generations.

At the same time I feel like original timeline Kuai Liang, the same as his elder brother, was much more disillusioned about Lin Kuei but I will leave that subject for another time.

#mortal kombat #bi han #sub zero #kuai liang #this difference says a lot about both brothers #i think the difference is in part how they react to their trauma but also how bi han as the most cunning lin kuei had different insight int #clan inner politics and matters #the insight into dark side of lin kuei than kuai liang #and wonder if mk1 bi han as the eldest son and heir was more involved in their father's duties than kuai liang and tomas were #original bi han and kuai liang from games may be both disillusioned but bi han in the oldest comics had more to say about honor #or honorable acting #interesting

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Redemption Through Service - Kugrash in The Unsleeping City

In their post (cited with their express permission at the bottom of this essay), Tumblr user midground says that Kugrash and Kingston's handshake at the end of season one can be read as New York City (embodied by Kingston Brown) thanking Kugrash for his service. I'd like to expound upon that in this essay, as it's a fascinating point.

In my previous essay on Robert Moses in The Unsleeping City, I stated that Kugrash is serving penance for his actions prior to the start of the series. Specifically, he fucked over a very powerful wizard and was transformed to show what his soul looked like - a rat, a very clever play on the idea of a "rat race". Since his transformation, he's been working to protect New York City and its dispossessed.

Not only is he working to protect the city from magical threats, but he also provides food, shelter, and magical care to the homeless and support for his fellow Heroes of New York (the latter of which we'll get to in a minute). Mechanically, Kugrash is a Circle of the Shepherd Druid, a subclass focused on protecting those who cannot protect themselves. Dimension20 has always excelled at making the mechanics of a character part of their personality or an idea that the character is meant to convey.

Not only does Kugrash care for the helpless, but he also cares for two other Heroes of New York. First, he cares for Sophia Lee multiple times, including their memorable first interaction. Some of the most touching moments in The Unsleeping City are shared between the two, including their tearful goodbye after Kugrash eats the Bagel of All Things. Second, he acts as proof to Pete that redemption is possible at a time when the young Vox Phantasma needs proof of that, including sticking up for Pete when the rest of the Heroes of New York were debating killing him, and Pete would later go on to advocate for Cody in season two in much the same way.

He then goes on to use a Greater Restoration to end a bloodline curse on Esther's family, which includes the woman he fucked over who turned him into a rat.

When offered a chance at the life he might have had by the American Dream, he tells the eldritch horror:

"I used to be a lot like you. You're a rat...I can't have what you're offering me, and that's my fault. But American Dreams change."

He rejects an offer to have his curse lifter because he thinks he hasn't earned it. He's resigned to spend the rest of his life in service as a penance, and that moment is followed by him making a pivotal choice - he eats the Bagel of All Things and sacrifices himself.

Finally, we get to Kugrash's final act. Not only does Kugrash shake Kingston's hand, the city thanking him for his service, but that handshake is him using his power to heal the city one last time since it's flavored as a 5th-level Cure Wounds. And then he disperses, foiling Robert Moses and earning the redemption he's sought for so long.

His legacy continues in season two, but that's a matter for another time.

My next essay is going to be on how Brennan and the Intrepid Heroes used the American Dream's offer of happiness and security as one last chance for characterization.

As promised, the link to midground's post.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 the unsleeping city #kugrash #dimension20 essay

[filmista]

Film History: Pre-code films

The pre-code era represented a radical change in the role of women in cinema. Undoubtedly, the new female protagonism was not attributable to a sudden interest in the figure of women in society, nor by the search for equality, not even by a current of socio-cultural thought that sought renewal, in this regard , of the American arts. 

The studios simply used women to find enough sensationalism, morbidity and scandal to bring more audiences to theaters. It is evident that, despite the fact that economic gain was sought more than artistic quality, the end result was that many actresses became real movie stars, gaining a prominence, in many cases, greater than that given to male roles , and even, as we will see later, an actress even saved a major studio from bankruptcy.

There were many films that directly or indirectly addressed issues related to adultery, although perhaps it was the Metro Goldwyn Mayer film "The Divorcee" from 1930, the first to address the issue directly, creating a stir among the most popular  conservative sector of American society. 

The protagonist (Norma Shearer), deceived by her husband, decides to take revenge by sleeping with her best friend. Her performance earned her an Oscar. Curiously, this film was produced by Irving Thalberg, promoter of the first code and one of the most interesting characters in Hollywood of those years.

Returning to what the film's premiere meant at that time, there were two details that triggered the outrage of the "conservative sector"; firstly, that it was precisely one of the authors of the code who produced a film that openly violated it and, secondly, that the attitude adopted by the character of Shearer was certainly shameless and seemed to convey the following message: "if a man can be unfaithful  why shouldn’t a woman flirt with whoever she wants.” Of course, after being divorced and conquering man after man, she regretted that behavior and returned to her husband, whom she had never stopped loving.

Norma Shearer herself, again produced by her husband, would soon release "A free soul", 1931. This film tells how the daughter of an important lawyer begins an intense sexual relationship with a gangster played by Clark Gable (in which what would be his first major role). Another twist on what, according to the code, should not be shown in the movies.

Also in 1931 would be released "Night Nurse", a classic film of the pre-code era, with gangsters, and a  sexuality that floods the entire film with numerous scenes in which nurses appear in underwear.

But the most relevant thing about "Night Nurse", apart from serving as an example of a pre-code film, is that it was one of the first leading roles of the great Barbara Stanwick. Actress full of strength, talent and charisma, she was undoubtedly the most important Hollywood star of those early 30's. Before “Night Nurse” she had already shot “Illicit” 1931 (Illicit) and “Ladies of Leisure” 1930 (Light Women ) her first film with Frank Capra, with whom she would be very prolific during the 1930s and 1940s. Her enormous versatility led her to appear in genres as diverse as comedy, western, melodrama or film noir.

Apart from Capra, she worked for the best directors of the time; Howard Hawks, Cecil B. de Mille or Fritz Lang were lucky to have her in some of their casts. In 1933 she would participate in "Baby face" (Angel's Face) undoubtedly one of the most extravagant and lascivious films of the pre-code era. In it we are introduced to a licentious, sordid Barbara Stanwyck full of strength and determination. 

The film shows us how a woman uses her sexuality to achieve a higher social status by cajoling increasingly important men. The message she conveyed left no room for doubt: women can manipulate men with sex and be successful in life. Although it is also true that the ending serves as redemption for the character, she has to choose between money and love and she already knows what truly makes her happy ...

One of the actresses who stood out especially in the pre-code era for her sensuality and daringness was Mae West, considered the first sex symbol and fatal woman in the history of cinema. In 1932, she appeared in the film "Night after Night", by Archie L. Mayo. After this film Mae West became a comedian with a very characteristic humor that gave her the rank of star thanks to an adaptation of her theatrical hit "Diamond Lil" entitled "Lady Lou" (1933).

She enjoyed enormous decision-making power in the films in which she participated; She was a set designer, a screenwriter, and she also chose her co-stars. Provocative, confident of herself and her showmanship, she was surely the most influential actress in Hollywood in a long time. It was she who avoided the bankruptcy of Paramount, discovered a very young Cary Grant and also, charging for all this more than any of the actresses of that time, was the highest paid actress. In 1933 she premiered "I'm no Angel (I'm not an angel), along with Cary Grant and directed by Wesley Ruggles. Endowed with an undeniable gift for comedy and, especially, for double entendres she was the author of phrases that are already part of the history of cinema such as:

"Do you have a gun in your pocket or are you glad to see me?" "I believe in censorship, after all, I have made a fortune at its expense." "When I have to choose between two temptations I always choose the one that I have never tried." "When I am good, I am very good, but when I am bad, I am better."

#film history #precode films #hollywoody #hollywood history #american film #mae west #barbra stanwick #sexuality in film #censorship #film censorship #film and censorship #film #movies #filmista

[murmoruno]

"I don't trust you, but I can use you"

PAIRINGS: Astarion x fem!Tav

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had an idea/headcanon or whatever this is called for my own Tav and I want to try to write about it for a bit. Please note that this is my first time writing fanfic in English since It is not my native language. Bear with me if it sounds strange since I use a lot of Google Translate haha.

------------------------------ What if Tav is a true vampire?

------------------------------

In the shadowy realm of Faerûn, a most peculiar encounter unfolded. Tav, a true vampire, had embarked upon a path of redemption, now residing in solitude amidst the ancient woods. She is harboring no intentions of causing harm or extending a helping hand. All she sought was a peaceful existence in her eternal life.

Unfortunately, while revisiting her long-abandoned hometown of Baldur's Gate, she found herself ensnared by the sinister tendrils of the mindflayer's grasp.

On that day, destiny took a fateful turn as she crossed paths with Astarion. The vampire within her recognized his vampiric nature instantly. Despite this realization, she kept her silence, knowing the plight of being a spawn all too well, as she had once walked that same path. She empathized with his desire to conceal his secret, for she had harbored the same intentions.

Having spent centuries secluded in the woods, Tav had mastered the art of concealing her vampiric urges from others.

She marveled at her newfound abilities—to bask in the sun, to cleanse herself in the flowing waters, to enter another's abode unbidden. She realized she had never experienced such joy, and she believed Astarion would feel it too. Yet, she maintained her composure despite this revelation.

Astarion did question the crimson hue of her eyes, but she dismissed it as a family trait, shared by most of her kin.

On the night when Astarion attempted to sink his fangs into her and confessed his vampiric nature, Tav felt compelled to disclose her own past. She yearned for his trust as ardently as he yearned for hers.

A heavy silence hung between them, with Astarion's expression shifting from surprise to utter disgust. His facade, the mask he wore in front of all others, crumbled away. His anger and loathing were laid bare before her.

Desperately, she tried to convince him that she was not the vampire lord he believed her to be, or at least not the kind he dreaded. She pled for his trust, vowing never to harm him, never even to entertain the thought. She promised to shield him, just as she had always done. She uttered every word she could conjure in her quest to earn his trust, for as much as she knew she could continue this journey alone, she couldn't bear to lose him. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to remain safe. With her.

But regardless of her words and the earnestness with which she spoke, his perception of her remained unchanged. He uttered no words and silently departed from the camp, leaving her engulfed in the consuming embrace of guilt.

She believed he had left for good, and she blamed herself for it. A heavy weight of remorse twisted in her stomach, leaving her utterly helpless. This marked the first time she had experienced such profound anguish as if her cold, lifeless heart could rupture from her chest at any moment. The intensity of her emotions caught her off guard; she had never realized she could feel so deeply, or even feel at all. These overwhelming emotions frightened her, an unfamiliar sensation after so many years.

Throughout the night, she sat alone, gazing at the stars, yearning for a reality where whatever had just transpired had never come to pass.

The following morning, she spotted Astarion returning from the forest, his mask firmly in place, greeting others casually as if nothing had happened.

Their eyes met as he passed by her.

In a hushed tone, Astarion murmured, "Don't misunderstand, my dear. I don't trust you, not in the slightest. But I can certainly make use of you."

Shock flickered across Tav's face as she glanced back at him, noticing a sly grin. She had never fathomed he could muster such bravery to tell a true vampire that he could manipulate her.

Yet, the truth lay bare when she saw the tremor in his shoulders. In that moment, she realized that this spawn had already been consumed by fear, pushed to the brink of desperation, with nothing left to lose but his choice to trust her, to trust her assurances of non-harm and protection from whatever perils pursued him.

With a subtle nod, she replied, "If allowing you to use me earns your trust, then with honor, I shall allow it."

The words hung in the air, a punctuation to her inner musings. A glimmer of hope flickered in her eyes, a whisper of belief that perhaps this gesture could mend the divide between them. And in that moment, she dared to envision a future where trust might bloom anew.

#astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion fan fic #astarion x tav #baldur’s gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 fan fic #I wish I can make this longer or into a series but my brain just cannot go on haha #I'm not creative enough #If anyone want to continue this story feel free to do so! #I would love to write more #writing fanfic is so fun

[robbyykeene]

Do you think the storyline of Cobra Kai is irredeemable?

If so, when would you say it became irredeemable, and which storylines made it that way the most?

If not, is there something they are likely to do this season that would ruin it for you?

(Sorry if this is too negative)

Anon i am SO sorry it took me so long to answer this. Just found an entire essay of a response saved to my drafts that I somehow never published. So without further ado here’s the answer to your question that I answered BEFORE season 5 ever came out:

I mean, irredeemable is a big word. For me it’s not so much the storylines themselves as it is the general trajectory of the characters and the underlying narrative framing of it all. I got invested in this show because underneath all the karate soap opera absurdism, there was a really genuine and earnest story about the cyclical nature of abuse and toxic masculinity and radicalization. But it was still all through this lens of teenage karate gang warfare which was undeniably hilarious! But tbh what they had to say about that in season 4 was just…..not it for me at all. It feels like the show has moved away from saying something as basic as “toxic masculinity is bad” to saying nothing meaningful about it at all.

As for individual storylines, I’ve definitely not hidden how disappointed I was in Johnny and Robby’s storyline this season. I’ve ranted about this endlessly already but like. If the writers want to put the brunt of the blame of Robby and Johnny’s fractured relationship on Robby himself, what was actually the point of his character at all? Like genuinely. If Robby doesn’t exist to be a manifestation of Johnny’s own parental/parental figure trauma, then what’s the point? And it’s not about like. The believability of a kid in Robby’s position seeking out his deadbeat dad in a moment of emotional turmoil like that. Because people are complicated and they do complicated things and yeah if robby were a real life person, it could make sense he sought out his dad in that moment. It could make sense that robby would forgive him without any real effort being made to earn it, that he’d shoulder the brunt of the blame himself in the name of moving forward. But he’s not a person! He’s a character, just a tool created to tell a story, and the story they’ve decided to tell with him since s4 is something I am not interested in watching at all.

And relatedly, I am so not looking forward to Miguel going to Mexico to search for his dad. For starters, it’s absolutely going to be rife with racist stereotypes. But I remember reading an interview or something with Xolo a few years ago and he said something along the lines of “yeah I hope we never meet Miguel’s dad in the show. He’s irrelevant to the story we’re telling. And some kids just don’t know their dad and that’s okay.” And he was right! Miguel’s dad is irrelevant. And again is it believable that a real life kid like Miguel would, after everything he’s been through, run off to Mexico? Sure! But I care more about narratively meaningful storytelling than I do the hypothetical believability that someone like Miguel would do that.

Which is also why I hate with every fiber of my being that they’re going to redeem Kreese. And people can say it’s unfair of me to criticize the show based on speculation, but we all know it’s coming. And yeah, maybe it won’t be a redemption redemption. It’ll be him siding with Johnny and Daniel momentarily to further his own interests. Or some similar bullshit. But I don’t care. God, I just don’t care. The entire story was about the impact of Kreese’s abuse on Johnny. How it’s completely shattered his ability to function as a human being even decades later. How just when Johnny was finally getting his life on track, Kreese comes slithering back in, and Johnny, knowing what its like to want—to need a second chance from your son—he forgives him. He let’s Kreese back in. And it ruins his life completely. So to what, just undo all of that by having him and Johnny work together again for the sake of some meaningless avengers endgame type team up? It’s just a joke lol.

…….OKAY now for my updated post season 5 answer:

So I’m not certain Kreesedemption will happen anymore, but I do have absolutely zero confidence in their ability to wrap up the Johnny/Kreese storyline in any meaningful way at all. And I’ve made my opinion on season 5 as a whole pretty clear by this point lol. I guess in a way I do find it “irredeemable” at this point, although I’m not sure that’s the best descriptor. I’m happy for everyone who is enjoying this show, genuinely. I guess I’ve just so completely lost interest in anything that’s actually happening, and anything that could possibly happen, at this point. If I’m being honest with myself, I will watch s6 whenever it comes out, but it’s really just because I still enjoy being in this fandom and making memes and interacting with all the wonderful wonderful people I’ve met.

#anyway once again anon. sorry it took me literally over a year to respond to this 😭 i have a bad habit of burying asks in my drafts #also its not too negative youre good! i appreciate the question! #ck negativity #anonymous #asks

[jellisdraws]

Remnants

“You meager souls, devoid of the touch of the Veil, bereft of your gods, Sundered and Shattered- you eke out a paltry existence in the wake of the grand civilizations that came before.

You look to the eternal cities and edifice of the Eldritch, the magic and might that astounds your greatest arcanists, champions and celebrants, and marvel in the eternal wonders of such a civilization. You wonder at how wise were their people, how enlightened, how advanced?

Your Museums display the potsherds of the ages of divinity, when your ancestors walked by the feet of the gods and you wonder at their nobility, their unbreakable spirit, their great strength. You look back at the heroes who rose among the gods to take their place in legends and wonder if such a halcyon epoch is possible again. I tell you it is not.

You forget that through it all there were people: both simple and complex, of every race and oath and creed, who watched on the sidelines and fought on the frontlines, who pioneered and were lazy, who took advantage and betrayed trust, who sought redemption and just to be comfortable in their own skin, who cared for simple things and demanded recognition, who hated themselves and who hated each other. Bigots and saints and champions and rogues, and between and around them all. People. Kith. Kin. You forget, what the humans call their “humanity”- these people of the past. You look to history and are lost in the golden gleam of greatness, you care not for those who simply lived.

So lost are you in the grandeur, so lofty are your visions, You forget that these great demigods and ascendants were people among people. And they are as liable to their mistakes as anyone else. There were days before they were challenged and faced with the ending of their era. There were grey and golden days. Their enlightenment did nothing to prevent all suffering, their advancement was unequal in its distribution, their good intentions were as deficient and harmful as the schemes and plots of the great leaders of today.

Looking in the eternal and eternally shattered ruins of the Veilborn, that even in ruination hint at a potential that dwarfs your own-it’s impossible for you meager souls not to wonder at the greatness there, at the knowledge no one knows. Their grand structures, their portals and artifacts. How many died in pursuit of their gain and creation, how many were lost?

I tell you now the Veilborn are hardly worthy of admiration and wonder, the Septarchs even less so. Their world ways developed magic too quickly, they earned not and felt not the consequences of the fell powers they unleashed. Your gods and heroes are to be even more scorned and loathed- abandoning you on this shattered world after their Conflagration and Wars. Leaving you to pick up the pieces as the Veilborn did after them.

They tell you they entrusted the future to you- do not believe them. When their greatness could no longer be sustained and they looked at the destruction of their creation around them, and fell to solipsism. The gods creating their own worlds to retreat to; to hide from the disaster and crises leaft in the wake of them. And what about when it came turn for the Veilborn and their Septarchs? They visited ruination upon themselves rather than deign to allow their destruction at the hands of any outside force. So great was their pride and arrogance.

And now look at you, you and your ilk, a new civilization scratching in the junkyard shantytown left in the wake of what came before. Pitiful, untouched by Grace of Divinity or Veil. You call this the Age of Progress. How laughable. You pale in comparison to even the ruin of the past. Your folly is greater still than those who came before, trying to rebuild some semblance of civilized society. Your world has long ended, and unlike those who came before, you’re too stupid to abandon it.

I come with fire, to burn away the last vestiges of what was lost, to scour clean the remnants of this world. It will begin anew, seeded from the space beyond the stars, with life born of the final wastes. No more ambition, no more folly. No more picking up the pieces and wondering at what came before. I will raze it all. I do it for you, for once I am done- no more people must suffer at the hands of those with grand ambition. No more will the people of the future feel the weighty consequences of the past. I will free you all. This is my love. This is my beneficence. Submit and be destroyed.”

— Wriglth Nhegal, the Worm Hunger, the Writhing Decay, the Lord of Carrion

#Joe writes #monologue #villain monologue #I was trying to get into the headspace of my villain while I considered his motivations and things #this happened #enjoy #?? #fantasy art #dnd #homebrew dnd #the Eldritch Soul Campaign

[goldfinwrites]

Doubt Doubt knew he had abandoned his faith alongside his humanity centuries ago, but still asked God for forgiveness when a blond child wandered into his basement, demanding a contract, and he had agreed. The child had stared at him, self-assured with a piercing gaze, despite the slight tremble in the arm he held out towards the vampire. Doubt Doubt had sunk his fangs into the offering and felt the shift in his being as he was overwritten with the new name “Jeje”.

The blond reminded him of some pagan trickster god, Jeje thought, coiled against the forearm of his Eve. The white shirt and hoodie were soft enough to not catch on his scales as he moved, keeping himself warm, as he kept his fangs neatly tucked away. Attempting to steal from his capricious partner would only earn him an ascetic punishment, as he had learned through experience. He had been ordered to fast entirely for a week on his last attempt as penitence for his transgression.

Jeje was nothing if not obedient to his Eve, regardless of how unreasonable the whims he was subject to were. The vampire grumbled much of the time, knowing Mikuni’s fickle nature meant deference was unlikely to be rewarded -- though penace would still be demanded for defiance. He had figured out his Eve years ago, seeing him hurl a pillow at his bruised (albeit richer) then-roommate. Temperamental, but never foolish or naïve enough to let it harm his goals. Though Jeje understood Mikuni well, at times the Eve felt unfathomable, whether appealing for the vampire to purchase drinks at the nearby vending machine or in the quiet hours of the night as he silently wandered the streets with the snake around his neck. Though neither the holy nor unholy were meant to be understood by mortal existences, Jeje was reminded as he looked over the sleeping form on the couch with a cowboy hat covering his face.

The streetlamps glowed overhead as Jeje checked his bags were secure. The impromptu training exercise he was commanded to do with the other Eves had left him extra wary. Mikuni’s blond hair almost shone beneath the light as he tipped his head back, finishing the rest of his bottled coconut milk. After confessing his deliberate loss, he had been sent to fetch an appropriate offering for his Eve, which had been eagerly taken. The acceptance of repentance had Jeje swallowing the complaints from earlier and simply admiring his Eve.

The blond child that had sought him out years ago had become a mercurial path towards redemption he did not deserve but clung to desperately. He had sworn fealty and devotion to the undivine man before him, as no god could be as fragile as a mortal Eve. Though gods were objects for humans to behold, and Jeje knew that no sacred being would gaze upon him, who had seen beyond death and wandered the world as a revenant.

Jeje drank from the vial, knowing his Eve’s blood was a rare sacrament to receive. As profane as this Eucharist was, he felt strength surging through his godforsaken body. He had left his faith behind in the world of the living, but his Eve was the closest thing to salvation he had ever tasted.

#servamp #jeje #servamp jeje #doubt doubt #mikuni alicein #jeje seeing mikuni as simultaneously salvation and a rejection of the divine is very fascinating to me #also this one is titled sanctimony #i just dont like the format tumblr has for titles of posts so im not officially calling it that #fanfiction #goldfinwriting

[whenimgoodandready]

When you wanna put a stop to something, you take action. Like how the Bee Miraculous does it’s job by paralyzing the person they sting. Chloe had that job and then Zoe. Both sisters did well, but only one earned it by using their intended purpose for it wisely and for the greater good. Chloe sought fame and recognition as a super (“Queen’s Battle Part 2:Queen Wasp”), but Zoe was the one with the moral compass to only look out for the people and lend a hand (“Queen Banana”). Perhaps maybe Chloe would’ve eventually grown to do the same had she not been so selfish and listened to Ladybug (or Marinette/Ladybug giving her a chance more instead of a personal grudge), but alas it did not happen and we got a huge mess of a character from Chloe. That’s exactly what will also happen to the world if we don’t give it a chance and it causes a huge mess! We need to take action! How!? Read and learn:

*Action-This here special takes place in the middle of Season 5 and it turns out, Monarch was re-creating the world before the finale! How? Well, there’s a heat wave in Paris and Gabe was “solving the problem” by using 3-D Adrien and Kagami to promote these decorative (yet single use) plastic fans, that Mayor Andre had installed in vending machines all throughout Paris, which get discarded into the Seine river which pollutes it re-creating the city (and eventually the world) into a planet of trash!

None of the adults would help or understand the dangers of plastic pollution:Nadja with her news network (but for ethical reasons cuz she’d lose her job and not support her child), Gabe with the fan advertisements and even Mayor Andre on removing the vending machines selling said fans. Not even when Marinette and the gang decide to get to the root of the problem by going over to the head of the plastic industry and confronting Bertrand King, “The King of Plastic” (think Colonel Sanders, but “bubblegum flavored”), about their issue helped cuz Bertrand refuses to listen to the kids on reducing plastic, so they hijack the news station and point out (along with their Miraculous World friends) how over endorsing plastic can be harmful. These kids play hardball, let me tell ya, when they want to get a point across, they do it! Go big or go home!

This causes Gabe and Andre to save face by claiming to be “unaware” of the negative effects plastic can do for the environment and humiliating Bertrand to be akumatized, with the Bee Miraculous, as King of Plastic. An all plastic looking villain with the power to turn anyone he touches with his staff into colorful paralyzed plastic. When I first saw his look, he looked a bit too colorful to be a “plastic” themed villain. He looked more like a King Candy type of villain, but after seeing the ep, I realized that the reason why he was so vibrant was because all plastic is like that and he was like the human version of his multi-color changing pen that you see tween girls carrying in their trapper keepers! (Shhh! I have one too! It’s scented!), so it was fitting. The dynamic duo struggled with him at first, but it turned out his strength, was also his weakness! Whomp! Whomp! Whooooooop!

First ep to not be written/directed by Thomas Astruc and instead by the Breteau Foundation and despite the ep seeming “bland” and “Captain Planet” esque theme, kids shows tend to have episodes focused on environmental care so they can get their attention and take part in saving the world (in small doses that is) and having a little something for elementary school classrooms to learn from in a “Bill Nye:The Science Guy” type of way. Part of what motivates the kids to take action and not be so careless for the Earth. Which is why Zoe was more worthy of the Bee Miraculous as she was taking part in helping to minimize plastic use and Chloe was just there watching the interrupted news special (perhaps maybe this’ll come back to her and she’ll finally get that redemption arc we’ve all been dying for). Like before, this ep stands on its own being set in the middle of Season 5 possibly between “Confrontation” and “Collusion” which is why the more eco-friendly atmosphere isn’t established yet cuz of our new mayor, Bustier, and why Gabe/Monarch isn’t rotting in the dirt in his wife’s place (“The Last Day Part 2:Re-creation”). Not much else to go by since this whole special was pretty self explanatory and alls I can say is that we should do what we can to stop pollution and that I’m just waiting for the next special with Shadybug and Claw Noir!😉. I will still be back with that and the Season 6 premiere with new frames and thoughts on the show. Good-bye fellow Miraculars, the power is yours!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous action #ml action

[monterraverde]

vs. Red @redlegend

The battle trees arena was empty until the paperwork was completed, which gave them free range of the pitch.

Naturally, her first act is to call for a rematch. High up in the bows of the giant tree at the head of Poni Island, they'd make another stand against him.

She knew she hardly had a chance of winning, but she wanted a battle that didn't end in such a crushing defeat. Five to one on their first proper battle stung deep in her soul, and she refused to stand for it any longer.

Wipe the sleep from your eyes and gear up, Elite, redemptions in the air, now SEIZE IT.

Fafnir and Pikachu hit the field, Sandstorm set, but before it can even get raging, Pikachu cracks the sky with a mighty thunderbolt, and while it stings, Fafnir's almost completely knocked from the platform when the rodent suddenly launches at him in a harsh tackle, Rika quickly recalling him before he could well and truly fall.

Not a good start, she's scared.

Kamina hits the field, and Blastoise on the opposite side. A familiar matchup, with a familiar outcome. Blastoise smashes his shell, blood and shards flying everywhere while Kamina uses the sand to his advantage, moving like a whirlwind through it and using his small stature to get behind Blastoise and Drill Run right into the freshly opened wound on the turtles back- and he doesn't STOP drill running until the matchup is called, and he's returned to his ball. Choice band working perfectly.

One to One.

Bappy and Venusaur next, and Red surprises her by drawing out his Mega stone early. She was expecting Charizard, but the intense light of infinity energy engulfs the gargantuan frog, growing her canopy and empowering her greatly.

Bappy looks on, undaunted, He may not have his big mega spikes anymore, but he refused to back down, and the battle was on, taking swings at one another, the earth quaking beneath their feet as both pokemon sought to use it to their advantage. Venusaur covers him in Leech seeds, and Bappy roars as he endures hit after hit so she wouldn't feel sad, until he finally can endure no longer, and collapses under the onslaught.

You did your best, bud.

Next came Charizard, and she throws out The Don to greet him, the ancient Donphan trumpeting loud to signal his readiness as the Booster Energy around his neck activated. Scarlet energy coursed over his whole form like electricity, driving him into a bit of a battle frenzy as a centralized bit of sunshine seemed to generate from nowhere- and then they were off, Headlong Rush slamming right into the great dragons side. Charizard flames were potent, but the Donphan refused to yield- He was NOT going to suffer that injustice a second time.

He throws his whole body into Charizard, tusks primed and ready to gouge- Close combat.

Charizard falls, and The Don stomps his foot in triumph.

Two to Two. Already better then the last battle

Adniel next, against Snorlax, and Rika syncs with him almost immediately, the energy on the pitch becoming electric from the lingering high of battle, and Adniel roars in excitement before launching himself full force at his gigantic opponent. Claws met claws as Adniel continued to push back against Snorlax, feeling he had no recourse other then to shove the creature out of the ring since his defense was so high... And he almost succeeds, as a harsh brick break attack finally drops the Snorlax... and Adniel lets out a roar of excitement before he's eventually called back as well.

Two to three... One more takes it.

Gremlin emerges, against Lapras, and it's hardly a battle- more like the most calculated grounding of a bat pokemon one would ever see. Ice beam into Sheer cold- Which somehow hit again with deadly accuracy.

A Tie.

They double back and choose three more mons each, but while they're healing, Rika's riding the high. She brought it to a tie this time- There's still a chance she can win, but this alone was a satisfactory outcome for her.

Redemption earned, pokemon healed, and they return to the pitch.

Her three strongest pokemon against three of his, and the battle commences again.

The Don against Pikachu is hardly a fight, a pair of Earthquakes is enough to ground the electric rat, after swatting him away with his trunk.

Bappy and Venusaur return to the field together, and again its an incredibly close match, Bappy enduring hits and dealing back just as much damage, digging his spines into Venusaurs appendages and doing everything he could, but ultimately falling.

And then Adniel and Lapras. A fight that left the whole stadium encased in a light layer of ice and frost. Adniel lashing out wildly with brick break and dragon claw, dodging ice beams, and managing to dodge Sheer Cold a fair amount. The Onslaughts from both sides were intense, and it eventually caused them to disengage and regroup before launching at one another one last time.

It drags on for what seemed like an hour, Rika watching in awe as Adniel slashed into Lapras' flesh and shell, trying desperately to get in whatever critical blows he could before Lapras could attack him again, roaring and biting and snarling...

But it's ultimately a wash, Lapras landing a critical Ice beam straight into the Garchomps core, dropping him to the ground.

Another loss, but one that she- for all her pouting and huffing- couldn't be mad about. Her pokemon performed excellently, she brought it to a tie, and that final battle practically made her hair stand on end.

They just keep getting better... but so does Red, and thats more then fine by her.

"That... That was incredible, Red, well done..."

#UGH such a good match #:: king and crown #blastburned

[dendrosys]

Actually. Let's talk about Ei, you know my opinion of her sure. But she's now the only archon we haven't gone in depth about.

I'll start with my impressions of her then give you the character analysis, well two, one being based on her actual facts, two being based on the new character she was given.

Ei herself was a general, and she still prominently believes in finding eternity, she was aware of what the Fatui was doing, likely more aware than Shogun. She's strict and found reason to abandon her creation in sight of emotions, which kind of pisses me off but not more than Scaramouche does. Sure sure, its too take care of his own life, but we've seen in her second story quest how the Raiden is so heavily programmed; meaning that she abandoned him and his purpose, which might be the reason he went rogue, his program has been given meaning. Or at least that's my theory with what we've recently learned of the Shogun. However brash Ei is, her willingness to sacrifice her nation and be aware of it, is beyond me, the Shogun probably even sought out Ei's decisions. So why would Ei be so willing to do it? And then play off being innocent because of isolation? It can change a mindset sure, but it doesn't change her personality as it did right then.

Ei herself could be a great actor, but I personally see her as brash, she's not impulsive, but brash. She pushes forward on one thing, and usually only what she sees to value. While she does care for her people it's not the same as her care for her own ideals, where in which we saw in our second battle with her, where Yae intervened. Personally I want to acknowledge something too, Yae couldn't do this herself, it had to be an outsider who went against ALL her ideals. Even though Yae could've proven everything, she wasn't even let in. Because she wasnt anything different. She's distant, and cold, though she comes off as both pessimistic and optimistic. I'd personally like a better redemption arc to prove she's not acting, for she's acknowledged her downfalls, but hasn't at the same time and it makes me feel so unsettled.

Now a Fandom and current based, she's still brash, but she also falls under the kind category, which feels so odd. Because the first two battles showed plenty of her personality. Which leads me believe after having been proven wrong she's trying to reflect Makoto once again.

These are my opinions at least.

I think Ei herself is a fine character… like these character flaws arent what ticks me off about ei, its how hoyoverse gave her the befriendment treatment without her really… earning it ? idk. i agree with everything you’re saying tho. she definitely has some weird shit going on with her

i think we have a bit of a difference in what makes a character we like

i can like a character who is evil and awful, i like scaramouche i like ei i like la signora i like il dottore.. as long as a character interests me i’ll hold some sort of like for them. love hate relationships are also present. i just think hoyoverse fucked her over by redeeming her so soon. but yk they have a schedule and they cant spend too much time on ei

[deathisanartmetzli]

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @stolensiren​​​ @deathisanartmetzli​

SUMMARY: Metzli sets out to get their soul back alone. Cass ensures they have someone next to them.

CONTAINS: Emotional Abuse/Emotional Torture, Parental Death, Slight transphobia (indicated)

The door locked with an echoing click, signaling the end of the day. With all patrons and employees gone for the day, it was time to do something Metzli had waited so long for. They watched as the last rays of the sun dwindled away, and a wry smile painted on their lips. Brimming with anxiety, they forced their legs to move. Everything was set. Everything had finally come into place. Years upon years of struggle that the vampire never asked for, and it was finally going to be worth it. They were going to finally have something as a reminder that wasn’t given with a violent hand. A bite that left bleeding wounds that could never seal. All of this was good, everything they wanted was just over the horizon, and Metzli couldn’t help but be terrified.

As they stepped into the warehouse connected to the gallery, their body shook. Tremors of fear sent pricks to their nerves in a way that directed them to take a deep, hitched breath. One that Metzli knew they didn’t need, but used to their advantage. With it, they quelled what thoughts they could because they were scared. Had fear that the spell wouldn’t work. Or that even with their soul, they would still be nothing more than a monster. But, despite all of those overwhelming emotions, they made their way toward the necromancer. “Everything ready?” Jacob nodded, still seeming wary of Metzli. Like he was unable to completely believe that a vampire wanted to retrieve their soul, but they could hardly care what he thought.

The opinions Metzli actually cared for wouldn’t join them that night, and didn’t even know the ritual was happening. Except Cass. She had prodded until she got an answer, but they made sure to tell her to stay away. Part of them wanted it to be a surprise and the other part believed they needed to do it alone. Comfort couldn’t be sought after. Redemption needed to be found on the basis of solitude, they thought. They wanted to be selfless even if it was to their detriment, anxiety pulsing through them. Had they not been so distracted by that and the transpiring events, they might have caught the third presence entering the gallery, but Jacob had their full attention. “Go ahead and lay down, I’ll get started in just a moment.” He instructed and Metzli did as they were told, laying on a blanket in the middle of sigils.

Metzli told her to stay away, but Cass had never been particularly good at listening. Stubbornness was always a thing that ran rampant in her personality, and tonight, she was going to make it a good thing. She understood, to some extent, why Metzli wanted to be alone. She understood the desire to punish oneself for perceived wrongdoing, understood the feeling that redemption was a thing that needed to be earned before comfort could be sought out. She’d been doing it to herself ever since that motel room and that bloody knife. But Metzli deserved to have someone there for them tonight, and Cass wanted to be that person.

So she made her way to Metzli’s gallery, key in hand. It had taken some prodding to get the details out of the vampire, but eventually she was able to convince them to tell her when and where the ritual was happening. The warehouse beside the gallery, tonight. Metzli was probably already there with whatever necromancer they had helping them, and Cass slipped in the door quietly as she made her way towards them. It didn’t take long to find the setup.

“I’m not too late, am I?” Her voice was small as it rose up from the doorway, nervous. She’d wanted to time it just right, wanted to get here before the ritual started, but without enough time for Metzli to make her leave. She eyed the setup carefully, making note of the sigil on the floor, the blanket atop it, the man who had put it there. His eyes turned to her with some surprise, and Cass offered him a small smile. “I’m Cass. I’m a — A friend. Here for moral support.” She flashed Metzli a smile. “I know you told me not to come, but… Obviously I was going to ignore that. And I’m not gonna leave, so you’ve just gotta deal.”

Metzli shot up from the blanket as soon as the door opened, fearing there’d be a stranger to ruin the night. They greeted Cass with a snarl, only to have it soften upon seeing her face. “Cass! I told you—” Frustration grew, colliding with the relief of having a familiar presence with them. Jaw clenched tightly as they struggled to get to get to their feet and march over to their friend. “Just give me a minute. We can start soon.” They addressed the necromancer and reached the entrance within a few paces, face flushed with frustration. With a petulant groan, they opened the door and pushed Cass back into the gallery area, ready to chastise her for not listening. God, she never listened.

“What are you doing here? What did I tell you?” Metzli shut their eyes tightly as they released a deep sigh. Hands were thrown this way and that, accompanied by grumbles of indiscernible chatter. She wasn’t going to go away and they should’ve known Cass would end up at the ritual. They should have known. “You came after I specifically told you I had to do this alone?” The sentiment wasn’t lost on Metzli, in fact, it brought tears to their eyes. They tensed a hand through their hair, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time in just a matter of a few minutes. “You’re really not going to leave, are you?”

Metzli was surprised by her presence, but it wasn’t as if Cass could have warned them that she was coming. They would have insisted she stay home, might have even changed the location of the ritual just to keep her from showing up. Cass was stubborn, but so was Metzli. If they didn’t feel like they deserved something, they tended to go above and beyond to ensure they couldn’t have it. And Cass didn’t want that now. She didn’t want them to be alone with a near-stranger for something that was probably going to be scary and traumatic and hard. Not when they didn’t have to be.

“I told you,” she said with an unapologetic shrug, “I’m here for moral support.” They could be angry with her if they wanted to be, but she had no intention of leaving. And she wasn’t sorry, in spite of the look on Metzli’s face. “I sure did,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I know you think you… don’t deserve to be around people right now. I know you think you have to do this alone to — to atone or whatever. But — and I say this with respect — that’s fucking stupid. You’re not alone anymore. And you’re not going to be alone anymore. Not ever. I’m here. And no, I’m really not going to leave. So we might as well get started.”

It made sense didn’t it? To find redemption alone, to let themselves feel the pain because they had inflicted so much on others for decades. Metzli looked down at Cass and they could see how badly she wanted to be there for them. And despite how much they protested, deep down, they wanted her there. They were relieved to see that someone had shown up because they were scared. Out of everyone Metzli knew, Cass was one of the few who never knew what it was to be loved by parents, to have missed out on a family because of another’s selfishness. They had bonded on that, but never once did they make it the foundation of their relationship. The two of them had found love and had proven to each other time and time again that they’d never be alone again. “Okay,” They muttered, taking hold of her hand with a sniffle. It was useless to fight what they wanted, especially when Cass was so insistent about giving it to them. They’d do her the courtesy of being honest with themselves and letting her take on that truth.

“We can go back in a sec. I’m…nervous.” Metzli bit their lip and pressed their back against the wall, sliding down as the tension built in their chest. Too many worries circled around their mind on loop, and it was becoming difficult to keep the composure they had before. When it was just Jacob, the facade was easy to keep, but it quickly fell apart in front of Cass. They tightened their arm around their knees and cried freely, knowing Cass would never judge them for being so vulnerable. “I’m fucking scared.”

Cass was prepared for an argument, ready for Metzli to insist she leave. Metzli was stubborn when they wanted to be, and always so, so insistent on doing things alone. And Cass understood it, of course. She understood how scary it was to accept help when you’d gone all your life without it. She understood, too, the way guilt could curl up inside your chest like an animal, make you think you deserved that loneliness. Cass had killed one man, and it nearly broke her. It was still nearly breaking her. She could only imagine how intensified that feeling was for Metzli. She could only imagine how much worse it would be once their soul was back intact. The fact that they knew that and wanted it despite… It was admirable. It was what made Metzli a good person, what made them someone Cass looked up to with everything she had. And it was why she was relieved when the vampire didn’t try to argue, didn’t insist that she leave. She would have stayed anyway, of course; nothing could have dragged her away from here. But it was nice, not having to fight for it. It was a pleasant surprise.

“I think it’s normal to be nervous,” she said gently, putting a hand on Metzli’s knee gently. “And scared. It’s a big change, and it’s something you’ve wanted for so long. But you did the work, and you won. You did the hard part. And the next part might not be easy, but… It’ll be good.” She paused for a moment, squeezing her friend’s knee. “And I’m really, really proud of you.”

A breath hitched in Metzli’s throat, their head snapping up to meet Cass’s gaze with widened eyes. The words felt nice in their ears. They made their way to their chest in a way that made it feel like their heart actually beat for a moment. “R-really?” Hearing that phrase wasn’t something they were used to hearing. They couldn’t recall the last time they’d heard it. Had they before? As they looked at Cass, it got easier to believe her and before long, they accepted it, like so many other things that came with their friend. She was their family; one of the very first siblings they had adopted as their own. All the hard work they put in had given them hope. Light that broke through the black, so bright that it shielded them from the shadows of the past. Forever they would be there but unable to alter without their approval.

“Let’s go,” They sniffled, rising from the ground and shaking off the fear with each step they took back to the blanket. Metzli let go of Cass’ hand, not realizing they had held on for so long. Once they were settled back in the circle of runes, Jacob got to work and used his thumb to paint a black symbol on their chest. “If you can’t complete the journey, this will get you back. Don’t let it fade. Otherwise you’ll bet stuck there until you can get your soul back.” Metzli swallowed with a nod, feeling the ball in their throat grow alongside their fear. A lot was riding on the ritual, on them, but they’d never backed away from a challenge before. In fact, they thrived on that pressure. “Are you ready?” Jacob asked, and Metzli responded with another nod, looking at Cass one more time before the laid back down. “As for you,” He looked to Cass, “You can be here, but stay out of the circle. This is their journey, and they need to go alone.”

“Yeah. Really.” And it was true. The pride that was swelling in Cass’s chest wasn’t entirely familiar; before White Crest, she hadn’t had anyone to be proud of, just as she hadn’t had anyone to be proud of her. She’d always been social, but never good at forming long-lasting connections. Never good at staying when doing so meant risking the other person leaving first. Things were different here. In White Crest, she’d found people like Metzli. She’d found a family. And it was impossible not to feel proud of her friend for doing something so scary and so brave. It was impossible not to be unbearably proud that they were taking these steps to get better, even though the steps were hard ones to take. Even though they knew it would hurt.

With a nod, Cass followed Metzli back to the blanket. She watched the spellcaster draw a symbol on the vampire’s chest, her own chest feeling tight as he did. She listened to the instructions just as intently as she would have if it were her journeying to retrieve her soul. When Jacob told her she’d need to remain outside the circle, she bristled. “Is it, um… possible for me to go with them?” She didn’t like the idea of letting Metzli do this alone.

Jacob sneered at Cass and sighed. “No. They have to go alone. Who knows if you’ll end up in the same place together. This magic is sensitive.” Leaving no room to argue, he moved on, placing all the ingredients in a smaller circle that was connected to the soon-to-be portal. Metzli breathed deeply, too consumed with their thoughts to really fight back, as much as they wanted Cass to be with them. Now that she was there, they felt incredibly stupid for trying to deny themself the comfort. She may not be able to go with them, but her presence was enough to keep them from falling apart. Made it easier to zone out as Jacob chanted and a white haze of light began to surround their body.

Metzli yelped softly as the glowing trail swept beneath them, sending a sharp pain to their back. Teeth pressed together to stifle any further sounds, but they soon found their jaw trembling. Their lungs wanted to release a cry, anything to let out the pain spreading through every nerve. All that managed to brush past their lips was a choked sob. Out of anticipation, pain, and fear. It was a bitter cocktail of feelings that they didn’t quite know how to process. In a matter of seconds, Metzli felt like the light began to intensify, swallowing them completely, dragging them further into the blinding energy. Sinking and sinking, they didn’t attempt to swim, knowing that would be a futile effort. The magic would send them where they needed to be, where they would begin their final venture for their soul. Taking a deep breath, controlling the last thing they could, they felt the near-calcining temperature dissipate. The last thing they saw was a shadow, a figure in the shape of a person, before they landed in darkness. With nothing but a trail of spattered crimson glowing at their feet. It led further into the darkness, seemingly infinite. Metzli took a single step, only to feel a squeeze at their hand. “Cass?”

Cass quickly decided she didn’t like the spellcaster much, if only because he was giving her an answer she didn’t particularly want to hear. But she sat obediently outside the circle, watching Metzli’s expression with a concerned furrow to her brow. It was clear that they were nervous and uncomfortable and afraid, and she wanted to do more to help. She wanted to do something real, something that went beyond just standing there and watching. But Jacob had been clear, and the last thing Cass wanted to do was mess anything up. Metzli probably only had one shot at this; the last thing Cass wanted to do was ruin it for them.

But it was easier said than done. Every nerve in her body felt like a livewire as the circle began to glow, jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. And when Metzli cried out… It was more instinct thant anything else. Someone Cass loved was in pain, and it became impossible for her to sit by and do nothing as it happened. Without thinking, she surged forward into the circle, grabbing Metzli’s hand and giving it a quick squeeze. And… the world fell away around her. Cass was surrounded by darkness, and the only thing she could feel was Metzli’s hand in hers. She sucked a breath, eyes wide. When Metzli said her name, they seemed to materialize from the shadows, and Cass shot them an apologetic look. “I — I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have — you sounded like you were hurt, and I couldn’t…” She trailed off, averting her eyes with a shrug. “Sorry. But I’m — I’m here now. I can help. I can still help.”

The only thing that surfaced onto Metzli’s face was a soft smile. Of course Cass wouldn’t let them do it alone. She never listened to anyone or followed rules, especially if they were placed by someone she didn’t know or respect. That was one of the many things they loved about her. Not averting their gaze from hers, they let out a breathy chuckle from their nose. “I’m not mad.” They stated gently, leaning down to plant a kiss to Cass’ head. “Come on. I’m guessing I have to follow this—this trail.” The red continued to glow, the only light in the area that was somehow emanating enough to grant them sight. Even for Metzli, a nocturnal creature, it was difficult to see in that ominous darkness. Losing a sense they relied so heavily on made their stomach sink, growing an eternal depth. Never had they felt so incapable of hunting. Skills they had honed for decades were now simply…moot.

Blood trail it was then. Metzli pointed at the path, sighing in frustration. “Guess this is the way. Uh, stay behind me. I know you’re perfectly able to take care of yourself, but this is meant for me. I should be leading the way, you know?” Brows creased together with hope, needing Cass to understand that they never meant to offend or brush her off as if she were a child. In many ways, she still was in comparison to their experiences, but they weren’t going to treat her as such. Like them, she was determined to take the pain head on because neither of them knew any other way. Pain was a prevalent factor in their growth, making it a strength that they didn’t expect, and on some occasions, didn’t want.

Metzli took a hesitant step forward, then another…and then another. Doubt faded, step by step, trickling away like they were the quake, and it was a fragile basin. They echoed just like a ripple, and in the midst of it, they heard a sharp and quiet, “Metzli!” Turning to face the sound behind them, they found no one but Cass. Again, their name was repeated the same way, still behind them while they faced their friend. And again when they tried to catch the voice, they were met with the void. “Did you hear that?”

Metzli wasn’t angry, and the relief of that crashed into Cass like a wave on the shore, causing her shoulders to slump and her lungs to release a breath of air she hadn’t meant to hold. She smiled softly as Metzli leaned down to press a kiss into her hair, the comfort of the familiar gesture making her feel safe even in an unfamiliar place. Looking out at the strange trail, she nodded. It made sense to follow it; it was the only thing here, after all. There wasn’t much else to do.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Cass wasn’t even supposed to be here. Who knew what kind of ramifications there might be if she got ahead of Metzli? The last thing she wanted was to mess this thing up. She’d never forgive herself if she ruined this for her friend and, even if they might pretend to, she didn’t think Metzli would forgive her, either. Metzli loved her. She had no doubt of that. But this was a journey they’d been on for so long now. They’d lost so much for it, sacrificed so many things and gone through so much pain. If it ended in failure because of Cass, she wouldn’t expect forgiveness. So, failure wasn’t an option. Not even a little bit.

Falling into step behind Metzli, Cass glanced around. Ahead of her, the vampire’s steps faltered, and Cass furrowed her brow as the whirled around with a confused expression. They seemed to be looking around, searching for something, but Cass didn’t know what. “Hear what?” The confusion and hesitation in her voice was clear. “I don’t hear anything.”

Ants crawled down Metzli’s spine, unsettled by Cass’ response. “You don’t?” Sucking in a sharp breath, they craned their neck left and right in an effort to anticipate a possible attack. “I heard my name. Sounded like—” Eloy. Like scents, Metzli never forgot a voice. His, especially. A resonant bass with low tones that scraped like nails and hissed like a snake. “Forget it. Let’s just keep going.” Continuing on the path for what felt like an hour, the whispers of their name grew louder, rumbling their chest with nerves as if their heart had a beat. They might as well have at the rate their fear heightened.

What started as quiet murmurs rose to a thundering howl, breaking like a bone, hollow and enraged. An equally booming crack! mimicked the voice as it crashed into the pair. Metzli exclaimed in pain, body rolling on the glowing red path and smearing it all over themselves and the ground. A barrage of punches smashed into their face and arms, coming to a sudden halt. Metzli gasped, recognizing the face instantly.

“Payback is a pinche puta, isn’t it?!” Eloy spat, head-butting Metzli. “And now you’re trying to get your soul back? ¡Desgraciada! It’s not going to be easy and I won’t let it happen,” He grabbed the scruff of Metzli’s shirt and pressed his nose to theirs, hissing through his teeth. “I’m going to prove you’re a monster. You’re not going to fight back. Just like last time.” Limbs were failing to move, unresponsive and crippled by the fear of seeing a man that should’ve been dead. That they killed. They supposed it made sense for him to be there. None of it was supposed to be easy and as much as they wished for a different reality, they knew wishes just didn’t come true.

Concern ebbed through her chest, and she glanced around warily. Just because Cass hadn’t heard anything didn’t mean there was nothing to hear. This was Metzli’s journey, after all; there might be parts of it that Cass wasn’t privy to, despite her presence within… wherever they were. But Metzli wanted to ignore it, and Cass didn’t want to argue with them so she only nodded. She could see the tension building in their shoulders from behind, see the discomfort and the nerves just below the surface.

And then — a force rammed into them both, and Cass found herself on the ground beside Metzli as an unfamiliar man began raining punches down on them. Cass scrambled backwards, but if the man saw her at all, he paid her no mind. His attention belonged solely on Metzli as he screamed in a mixture of Spanish and English. It wasn’t hard to guess who this man was, especially not with Metzli’s reaction; Cass had heard them talk about Eloy often enough to know that there were few things that scared them more than this.

Getting to her feet, Cass surged forward, shoving Eloy hard in an attempt to break him away from Metzli. “Hey, asshole! Go back to Hell!”

Metzli spat coagulated blood next to the trail, finding a brief moment of relief as Cass put herself between them and Eloy. If they thought they felt fear before, they were wrong. Eloy was a dangerous vampire, and if he managed to still damage them enough to bleed, then he could hurt Cass too. They couldn’t let that happen. “Don’t touch her. Don’t fucking touch her!” From the ground, Metzli leapt toward the two, but were quickly met with a crunching blow to the nose. Eloy grabbed Cass with a single hand, and somehow all Metzli could focus on was the beat of her heart as she struggled in his grasp.

“Yes, you hear it don’t you?” Eloy acknowledged Metzli with a wicked smile and it was at that moment that they realized what he was doing. He wanted them to bleed, to collect wounds that made their hunger sweep their stomach, and make anyone around them with a beating heart a meal. Metzli fell to their knees, holding their stomach desperately to stay in place. “Always the monster I created. You were born to be one. I knew it, your parents knew it, and…” He gestured to his side dramatically with a venomous laugh, a figure forming to reveal the first child Metzli had killed. “He knew it.” His heart was beating too. That tiny little heart, pounded like a hammer in unison with each pang of hunger Metzli felt, the pain caused their eyes to flow red and fangs to lengthen and bare in a threat. The urge to bite pushed them to drag the feet back under them to stand in a crouch. Ready to pounce. “Do it. Do it again and be the only thing you were meant to be.”

Metzli jumped up, but was quickly knocked back down by Eloy’s fist. Cass tried to move towards them, to kneel beside them and make sure they were okay, but a hand wrapped around her and held her by the throat. Not tight enough to cut off her air supply, but enough to make sure she couldn’t move. Enough to make sure she couldn’t thrash out without hurting herself, enough to make sure she couldn’t get away. Her heart was pounding, desperate and afraid. She didn’t know the rules of this place, but Metzli was bleeding. Metzli was hurt, and all Cass wanted to do was get to them and do something about that, and she couldn’t.

Cass’s eyes darted to the side as Eloy indicated towards something else, widening at the sight of a child. Cass struggled again, desperate to do something. To help Metzli, to help the kid who looked afraid, to be of use, somehow, but the grip on her neck held firm. She dragged her eyes back over to Metzli, sucking in a breath at the sight of red eyes and sharp fangs, hungry gaze fixed on the child. “Metzli,” she said quietly, “you know this isn’t you. Don’t listen to him. You’re so much more than what he tried to turn you into. You’re so much better than he is. He’s a monster. You’re not. You’re a good person. And you’re my friend. That’s what you are now. That’s what you were meant to be.”

They could see Cass struggling for release, but Metzli couldn’t truly see her. Their mind focus on the blood and they  looked at her the way that a predator looks at its prey, right before it goes in for the kill. Both Cass and the child were just another source of food. Kill. Bite. Eat. Only utilizing a single track, their stomach the stream engine in control. The look gave Eloy a pause of great satisfaction and he barked out a laugh that made Metzli’s skin crawl in disgust. That was the startling shock they needed to hear what Cass was saying and begin to digest them instead of the fresh food in her’s and the child’s veins. Her voice eased their fear, receding the darkness visibly. The whole area flickered, further pulling Metzli’s attention.

“Cállate!” Eloy screamed at Cass, quickly turning back to Metzli “Focus!” The darkness returned, the void somehow more intense than before. “Your food is ready, mi linda. Apúrate.” Eloy slowly brought Cass to the ground and placed her next to the child, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Who wouldn’t? Metzli mused internally, sinking into their place as a monster. That’s what they were, wasn’t it? As hard as they tried not to be, they couldn’t erase that they had always been one. Eloy was right. Even their parents knew it and they had gone through trouble of trying to prove them wrong when they last saw them. How stupid could they be to let themself get so hopeful?

A growl rumbled in their chest, low and threatening. Metzli saw their meals, primed for consumption. There was no use fighting. Taking a breath, smelling the blood, they took a step with hunger written on their face. “Yes, that’s it. Eat.”

There was a haze settling over Metzli’s eyes, and while it seemed to lift momentarily with Cass’s words, it was back again just as quickly. The siren let out a frustrated, wordless yell at Eloy as he continued sinking his claws into Metzli’s mind, trying to force them back into what he’d wanted them to be. What they’d never really been, as far as Cass was concerned. They tried so hard to be good, to be better. They were kinder to her without a soul than most people were with one. And it was frustrating to see Eloy try to take all of that away again. It was infuriating.

The vampire placed Cass down next to the terrified child, and she quickly put herself between Metzli and the kid. She trusted Metzli, knew that they could break out of this, but the child was afraid and Cass wanted to help in any way she could.

“Metzli,” she said lowly, desperately. “Look at me. It’s me. It’s me and you. What he’s saying is bullshit, all of it. Just because you did bad things once doesn’t mean you have to keep doing them. It doesn’t define who you are. He doesn’t define who you are. You’re the only one who gets to do that. And you have, okay? You have. You fought like hell to get here. To get a chance at this. You wouldn’t have done that if you were what he says you are. Monsters don’t want souls. You do. You have for as long as I’ve known you.” She got to her feet, standing in front of Metzli with a determined set to her jaw. “And I know you’re not going to hurt me. I know you never would.”

Transphobia TW

Eloy smiled far too widely, watching as his words manipulated Metzli into submitting to his view of them. He circled around them, hands clasped behind his back as he planted himself behind them to get a better view. He couldn’t be happier. In death, he still had ways to entertain himself, still had his claws deeply embedded in their little toy. “It’s no use, little one. Look at her. She’s a hungry beast and you’re her meal.” Rolling his eyes, he laughed at Cass’ attempt to dissuade Metzli from attacking. He was so confident that he had won, but he couldn’t see the look in their eyes.

Transphobia TW END

Metzli’s features softened, hearing Cass completely and feeling the love she tethered to each letter. Ever so carefully, she poured her belief in them, forcing the light to begin to glow in the void. Where they thought there was nothing, stood every life they had affected, every person they loved. A haze of people. Eilidh, Milo, Correy, Marina, and a handful of others were protecting them. In that moment, a striking sense of relief permeated through every pore. A strange sensation of warmth raked through, all the way to their mind. And then the ground shook, the blood red trail fading alongside their hunger. That was when Metzli finally turned, a new resolve blossoming in their chest. They weren’t going to be a monster anymore. They would be the protective wall now. They would stand between Eloy and pain, between themself and hunger. Love was the root of their foundation now, not a dead man who still believed himself to be a master.

“No.” Metzli planted the word firmly on their tongue, ready to affirm their place in the family tree they were grafted into as so many others were with them. Their life was theirs to be what they wanted. “No!” They stated again with a step, louder that time. Eloy faltered and stumbled backwards, already small in comparison to their height, but he felt even smaller then. “Don’t you fucking dare.” He hissed.

Cass had gotten good at ignoring men like Eloy, over the years. Men who thought they were stronger the more people they hurt. Men who took pride in being the thing people had nightmares about. Men who wanted respect they didn’t earn, men who found respect and fear to be interchangeable things. Men like Eloy had existed in every foster home she’d ever been placed into, had been the backbone of the group homes she’d bounced around in throughout her entire childhood. They thought they were more important than they were, and he was no different. Especially right now. Right now, in this moment, Eloy was nothing. As far as Cass was concerned, he always had been. Metzli was so much more than he could have ever hoped to become.

And they knew it, too. Cass saw the moment her words broke through. Something shifted on Metzli’s face. Slow at first, then snowballing. The hunger was still there, but it wasn’t in control anymore. The strange world they were in seemed to recognize it, too, shifting to match the new mood. The blood trail was gone. The space around them seemed a little softer, a little less harsh. Metzli turned, back towards Eloy, and Cass smiled. She shot Eloy a smug look, her victory clear in her expression. “Looks like you don’t know them as well as you pretend to. Actually, it kind of looks like you don’t know shit about anything.”

Metzli was advancing on Eloy, and Cass turned to the child, smoothing their hair down comfortingly. The child was dead. The child had been dead since long before Cass was born. She knew that. But they were here now, both of them. And the fear was real, even if it wasn’t necessary anymore. Metzli was going to do what they had to do, and everything would be better, after. Even if it hurt.

For the second time, Metzli was going to defeat Eloy. They could feel it in the shift they had caused, the hope that lingered and grew thanks to Cass. Looking at their sire, they smiled warmly, mostly to themselves. They had lived within other people’s beliefs for so long, failing to sift through the debris of the leftover pieces of their heart because those people decided they had control. And Metzli had relinquished that control to them. They fell and never once managed to get up on their own, but that way okay. Relying on others was okay. Relying on others had built them a better mirror, had even built a cast around their broken heart where they signed messages of love and encouragement. Forever would they be etched in Metzli. That love would transcend time. “I already killed you once. I don’t need to do it again. I just have to win.” And at that moment, when they stepped closer to Eloy as he cowered, they felt themselves begin to float.

Eloy watched as they were lifted into the air by an unseen force, surrounded by a looping string of mauve that picked up speed around them. The source of which was a deep crater, a tear in space that appeared as infinite as the darkness that once held the whole place captive. Metzli felt something at the center of their core, something tender and golden that uplifted a breath of choked elation. They’d never felt such a sensation before. It was akin to what they imagined they felt for Eilidh. A deep warmth that was like sugar to the spirit, the bright lights finally reaching Metzli’s inner hearth. It was overwhelming, but they were already greedy for it. They wanted to savor the way it made the dense layer of gray dissipate. Never let it go.

Metzli was right — they had won. Cass could see it reflected in Eloy’s face, the way the victorious look slipped from his expression and was replaced, instead, with one of anger and fear. Cass’s own face split into a grin at the sight, pride swelling up in her chest. She’d known, of course, that Metzli would be successful. She’d always known. If there was one thing, one person that Cass believed in without fail, it was Metzli. And Metzli had earned that belief.

They’d earned this, too. It wasn’t hard to guess what was happening as they were lifted into the air. They’d come here with a very specific goal in mind, after all. Cass felt the air shift beside her, looked down to see the child slowly fading away. When she looked back up, Eloy was doing the same. In a matter of seconds, it was only Cass and Metzli in the space, everything around them feeling a little lighter now. Cass craned her head up, watching Metzli with bated breath. They’d done it. Just like she knew they would.

“I-I feel it, Cass.” The light streams grew in numbers, intertwining around one another like Metzli was the center of an atom. Gone was the pain on their face. Gone was the boundless nothingness that Eloy had forced upon them. A whisper of weight settled in their chest but Metzli had never felt so light before. They had done it. This was their soul. A cosmic and immeasurable resonance filled with their decades of evolution and experience. Guilt and empathy sweeped their heart, beatless but never feeling so alive before. More alive than when it actually produced sound.

Metzli took a breath and looked down, reaching for Cass as they floated in the air. She began to rise with them, and they greeted her with the most genuine smile they’d ever formed, tears streaming down their face. The world that was hidden before revealed itself to them, and they could see it all. They had found their way, and for the first time ever, they were complete.

The two began to descend back down to the ground slowly, and Metzli broke the silence with a strangled chuckle. Just as they looked at one another, the room warehouse formed around them and Metzli let out air they didn’t realize they were holding. “I’m—I’m me.”

It was beautiful. The swirling light, the smile on Metzli’s face, all of it. Cass was confident it was the most amazing thing she’d ever seen and, in White Crest, that was really saying something. She watched, breathless, as Metzli floated. When they reached for her and she rose up, too, she let out a surprised giggle. It tickled, a little — like tiny, featherweight touches gently tugging her up.

She floated for a moment beside Metzli, elated and happy and proud. And then, they both began to sink back towards the ground, slow and gentle. When Cass’s feet touched the ground beneath them, she let out a breathless laugh, letting it tangle itself up with Metzli’s chuckle. The place they had been in began to fade, leaving the familiar warehouse in its place. Grinning, Cass nodded her head. “Hell yeah you are!” She pulled Metzli into an excited hug, letting out a tiny squeal as she did so.

Jacob stared, dumbfounded by the two actually returning. It was rare when a vampire wanted their soul back, so it was even rarer when they succeeded. For him, it had only been a few minutes, time working differently in the planes the pair had crossed to retrieve what had been lost and circle back around. “Congrats,” He whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment as Metzli and Cass embraced. It wasn’t his to intrude, and even if he tried to, they were too wrapped up in the momentous victory.

Metzli had toppled over in a fit of euphoric laughter, squeezing Cass in their arms and feeling their heart curl simultaneously with their smile. What had found a home in their chest was a million times better than what their wish had given them. The guilt was so heavy and there was so much left to undo, but Metzli felt strong enough to. They’d invite every emotion, beckon the turmoil to their heart because it belonged there like every other feeling. They’d turn that pain into art. Make beauty out of their pieces because they had them all now and then some.

“I love you.” They stated. Firmly and with no room for argument. With a smile they no longer had to sew together out of the ripped out heartstrings because they felt the words. Metzli connected their foreheads in a gesture of love and found comfort in the fact that the bleeding in their heart had stopped, and the dust settled around them to reveal the virtues of a soul. They bid farewell to emptiness and relished in the feeling of making themselves anew as they sat with Cass. “I love you,” They said once more, accepting the whim of their dreams coming to fruition and letting the warmth of the moment take over. That’s all they had to do for now. The work was done. They were whole again.

#wickedswriting #writings #words in blood #running up that hill (a deal with god) #metzli and cass #emotional abuse tw #torture tw #emotional torture tw #parental death tw

[mrsgreenworld]

This drama is a train wreck but I still keep coming back to it. Here are my issues for now:

Leyla’s entire arc. It kinda feels dumb all that she’s doing for a guy, the same guy who is complicit in the event that led to her paralysis and I can for the most part understand selfishness but not outright evilness and malice.

Kanat’s turnabout. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not “out of nowhere”. It’s very in character for him but this could have been a real big turning point for him and writers could have fit this into his redemption arc. Instead of hurting someone, he could have sought to understand and become someone his father isn’t, taking out anger unhealthily. And also, his actions were always wrong, just because his victim is being a mean person, doesn’t mean it negates his role.

Ekim: strangely I have the littlest issue with her right now (and this is coming from someone who hates self righteous characters). I could see why she recorded him and I could see how people become misguided in their attempts to do the wrong but the end of the day, she always suffers so it kind of balances out. The only thing I will have an issue with is if she DOESNT give kanat and leyla the reality checks they so need right now.

Like I said, I’ll keep coming to this show no matter how much it makes me groan. That’s my relationship with most Turkish dramas. So like bear with me please lol

It's a trainwreck indeed but I think very few Turkish shows aren't.

I have pretty much the same issues. Leyla's storyline is the messiest I think. I mean, if she's always been this selfish then how the hell did Ekim become such close friends with her, how is it possible that she never noticed how delusional Leyla is? And if the plan was to show that Leyla changed after the accident, well, that's just unbelievable. No accident can make someone into a completely different person. All this backstabbing bitchery was in Leyla all along. And her fixation with Kanat is just all kinds of crazy. I'm not even talking about his involvement with the accident. She doesn't even know the guy! The person she's been texting with simply doesn't exist.

Agreed re Kanat. Seeing him incapable of really hurting Ekim would've added to his redemption. It would've also solidified what he said to his father about love, how it changed him and how he'd never thought he was capable of love. Turns out he really is his father's son. Hazal was right when she said Kanat cannot love (like normal people do). And it just makes me sad. Because it was clear how much Ekim's betrayal hurt him. But he could still have made a different, better choice. And Ekim would have been in the position where she had to earn his trust back. Instead she'll be painted a victim and will ride her righteous high horse.

#duy beni #duy beni dizi #duy beni ask #hear me #anonym #anonym ask

[newsblare1]

THE Best Actors In The World According to their Acting

We all have our favorite actors and actresses. Whether it’s because of their talent, their good looks, or simply because they make us laugh, there are certain performers that we just can’t get enough of. But who are the best actors in the world according to IMDB?

Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon is an American actor and director who has appeared in over sixty films. He is best known for his roles in the films Footloose, A Few Good Men, and Apollo 13.

Bacon has been nominated for several awards throughout his career, including a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. He has also won a Saturn Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Bacon's work in film has earned him critical acclaim. He has been called one of the best actors of his generation by The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and The Independent.

IMDB ranks Bacon as the sixty-first greatest actor of all time. This ranking is based on the opinions of over two hundred thousand users.

Linus Roache

Linus Roache is an English actor who has appeared in many films and television shows. He has a very strong resume and has been nominated for several awards. IMDB ranks him as the best actor in the world, and it is easy to see why.

Roache has appeared in some of the most popular films of all time, including Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He has also starred in many critically-acclaimed films, such as Atonement and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In addition to his work in film, Roache has also had a successful career in television. He has starred in popular shows such as Law & Order: UK and Vikings.

What sets Roache apart from other actors is his versatility. He is just as comfortable playing a superhero as he is playing a medieval warrior. He is able to play both serious and comedic roles with equal skill. This makes him one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. He has starred in some of the most popular movies of all time, including Star Wars, Schindler's List, and The Dark Knight. He has also won several awards for his acting, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

IMDB ranks Liam Neeson as the fourth best actor in the world. This is based on the average rating of his movies on the site. His highest-rated movie is Schindler's List, which has a rating of 9.0. His other popular movies include Taken, Batman Begins, and The A-Team.

Liam Neeson is a very successful actor who has starred in some of the most popular movies of all time. He is highly rated by IMDB and is considered to be one of the best actors in the world.

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando is considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He has won two Academy Awards and was nominated for eight more. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award. Brando is best known for his roles in "The Godfather," "Apocalypse Now," and "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Brando was born in 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska. He started his acting career in 1944. In 1951, he made his film debut in "The Men." His performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire" earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in 1972 for his role in "The Godfather." He is considered one of the most influential actors of all time.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. He has starred in some of the most popular movies of all time, including The Shawshank Redemption and The Dark Knight. He has won numerous awards for his acting, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Freeman has a unique voice that is instantly recognizable, and he is able to convey a wide range of emotions through his acting. He is a master of his craft, and there is no doubt that he is one of the best actors in the world.

Jason Statham

1. Jason Statham is an English actor who is best known for his roles in action movies. He has starred in several films in the "Fast and Furious" franchise, as well as other action movies like "The Expendables" and "Crank".

2. Statham has a long history of martial arts training, which makes him well-suited for action roles. He has also done his own stunts in many of his movies, which adds to the sense of realism.

3. Statham's acting career began in the late 1990s, and he has since appeared in over 50 films. He has received critical acclaim for his performances in several films, including "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch".

4. In addition to being an accomplished actor, Statham is also a successful model and producer. He has appeared in campaigns for major brands like Adidas and Reebok, and he has produced several films through his production company, SJ Pictures.

5. Jason Statham is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. His experience in martial arts, coupled with his natural charisma, make him a force to be reckoned with on the big.

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. He has starred in many movies including Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He has also won several awards for his acting.

Depp is known for his ability to play a wide range of characters. He is able to make each character unique and interesting. He is also known for his dedication to his roles. He often does a lot of research to make sure he understands his character fully.

Depp is a very talented actor and he has demonstrated this time and time again with his performances. That is why he is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB.

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was an actor, director, and martial artist who is widely considered to be one of the best actors in the world. He was born in San Francisco in 1940 and raised in Hong Kong. He began his acting career in 1958 with the film The Orphan. He went on to star in a number of other films, including Enter the Dragon, which is considered to be one of the best martial arts films ever made.

Lee was not only an accomplished actor, but also a highly skilled martial artist. He founded his own martial art called Jeet Kune Do. He was also a master of Wing Chun, a style of kung fu.

Lee died tragically at the age of 32 from a brain edema. However, his legacy as one of the best actors in the world lives on.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. He has starred in some of the most popular movies of all time, including "Training Day," "Glory," and "Malcolm X." He has won two Academy Awards for his work as an actor, and he has been nominated for several other awards. Denzel Washington is a very talented actor who always gives a great performance.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt is one of the best actors in the world according to IMDB. He has starred in some of the most popular movies of all time, including "Troy," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and "World War Z." Pitt is known for his versatility as an actor, and he has demonstrated his ability to play a wide range of roles. Pitt is also a producer and has been nominated for several Academy Awards.

Conclusion.

IMDB is one of the most popular movie websites in the world. Every year, they release a list of the top 10 actors in the world. This year, the list was topped by Tom Hanks.

Hanks is a very popular and well-respected actor. He has starred in some of the most iconic movies of all time, including Forrest Gump and Philadelphia. He has won multiple awards for his acting, including two Academy Awards.

Hanks is followed on the list by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is also a very successful and popular actor. DiCaprio has starred in many critically-acclaimed movies, such as The Revenant and The Wolf of Wall Street. He has also won multiple awards for his acting, including an Oscar.

The rest of the top 10 list includes some other very successful and popular actors, such as Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. These actors have all starred in numerous hit movies and have won numerous awards for their acting abilities.

Overall, the top 10 actors in the world according to IMDB are all very successful and popular actors who have starred in many hit movies.

Read this blog also- What is Movierulz | How to download Movies | Is it legal or safe?

#Best Actor in the World #Amazon liquidation pallets #the cleanest city in the world #Most Dangerous Sports #Movierulz

[thegoblinwitchqueen]

One for Sorrow, Two for Mirth

Arthur Morgan X OC/Charles Smith X OC

Rating: Explicit/18+

TW: substance abuse, violence, sexual content, death, psychological content

Summary: In an attempt to write the wrongs of her past, Maggie Keane has sought redemption through caring for Valentines horses. All was going well and until a band of wanted outlaws decide to swindle her employer. Without even realizing it, her life was about to change.

Chapter:1 AO3

Word Count: 5,450

—————-

Soft as the velvet ears of a hare, but hardly as delicate.

Maggie allowed the tips of her fingers to move absentmindedly along the nose of the unfamiliar shire whose enormous body made even the tallest of her thoroughbreds look as though they were foals fresh from their mothers womb by comparison. His coat was thick and lackluster, but Maggie could see that the spring time shedding had already begun to free itself in various large patches along his muscular sides, exposing the sleek and shiny coat that lay hidden underneath like diamonds in coal. It would take two, maybe three, good brushing with her metal shedding brush and a bath before the black beast would glisten like an obsidian stone. Despite the work that this incredible monster would require, Maggie knew the price he’d earn would make it worth her while. Back and forth, the horse pawed anxiously within his new stable, and bellowed with such ferocity that the other captive horses joined him in either fear, or solidarity…she could not tell.

“Where did you get this…Goliath?” Maggie’s voice called out from over her shoulder to Amos Levi, and although she could not pull her gaze free from the magnificent creature who continued to demonstrate his power and discomfort with heavy steps and pacing along his tiny enclosure, Maggie knew by her employer's footsteps that he was within earshot as he swept the floor of the stable he owned free of straw, dirt, and debris. The act of sweeping the stable in of itself was futile. The uneven wooden floor boards would only accumulate more muck and mud from Valentine's Horses throughout the day as they rotated throughout the stables for cleaning and care. Still, Maggie knew better than to criticize or point out the painfully obvious reasons why Amos Levi shouldn’t bother with it. After all, it was one of the only ways the man maintained his sanity throughout his many years caring for and selling horses. Whatever was left of it, at least.

“An older feller and his son came in not too long ago looking to sell ‘em.” Amos set his straw bare broom against the door to a cream colored palomino’s stable door, and brushed the grime from his hands onto his stained apron before giving the mare a sturdy pat. “I reckon’ he caused them a lotta trouble considering’ how badly they wanted ‘em gone.”

Maggie rested her palm against the bridge of the shire's nose, and after a few moments of whispering sweet nothings to the stallion, he calmed down enough for her to get a better glimpse of him. However, It was only after a closer inspection that Maggie realized that the condition of the horse was not pristine as he had initially appeared. The stallion looked rather underweight for his size, and the ends of his mane frayed and split from months of malnutrition. His hooves were overgrown, but appeared healthy otherwise. She was thankful for that, but sighed with frustration.

She shrugged her shoulders as Amos tugged at his thick and overgrown beard which hid his thin mouth underneath a wiry mustache to accompany it. Had the man not kept a lit cigarette between his lips at all times, Maggie would not have known he even had a mouth at all due to how little he spoke throughout the day. Still, she did not mind the silence, and often found it comforting. He looked her up and down with the utmost anticipation

“What ya’ think Mags?” Amos chewed the butt of his smoldering tobacco, and looked at the young woman’s face in an attempt to decipher the peculiar expression she wore across her pale features. “Did I make a darn fool of ma’self fer buyin’ ‘em?”

“Well,” Maggie began, wiping her own hands free of dust on her back side. “I don’t see you as a fool, Amos. He’s got a lot of potential behind that coat and those hooves but….”

Her voice trailed off while her fingers pulled the lips of the beast's mouth open, and she saw that his teeth were in decent condition. However, he was definitely old and past his prime. The galvayne’s groove along his inscisers ran from gum to the tip and Maggie assumed that he was practically as old as herself. Twenty-five…maybe older. Not to mention the wear and tear from many long years of bridles which pulled against them. This horse had worked hard over his long lifetime.

Amos watched the woman intently and, after a few agonizing minutes of her tugging, pushing, and inspecting the creature from head to toe, allowed a groan to escape from underneath his tobacco stained beard; he already knew by the way Maggie’s brows furrowed tightly together, that he had indeed been a fool.

“He’s mighty old, Amos. I reckon’ he’s close to thirty. He should be looking at retirement, not pulling wagons. It’ll be hard to find anyone willing to purchase him for more than $80.00, maybe $85 if we throw in a free set of shoes. But, even then…I’m not a miracle worker.” Maggie tugged a few tufts of the shire's shedding coat away from his neck and ran her fingers along the fresh and glossy coat that appeared underneath.

Her mind thought of the ways in which she could spruce him up, convince some poor fool to purchase this monster, but her options were limited with this new found information. In response to her poking and prodding, the shire nipped at her fingers, however, she was too fast for him and pulled away before he could grab hold of her. With aggravation, the horse bellowed angrily and kicked at the stable door. “And with his temper, it may take me a while to break him. If I even can. He might be too old to change his ways now.”

“I shoulda’ known better than to make a big purchase without you.” Amos grumbled and picked up his broom to continue where he had left off moments prior in an attempt to clear his mind once more. Maggie sighed, and looked at the man with an expression of pity and understanding. Suddenly, Amos threw his broom and hat to the ground in frustration and remorse. “Bastard cost me $250.00!”

“$250.00?!” Maggie exclaimed in a tone more aggressive and louder than she had intended. The young woman’s gray eyes practically bulged from her skull in utter disbelief. “Amos! We have never paid anyone more than $130.00 for even the best looking shire! How in the hell did you spend that much on him!”

“The older feller was a mighty smooth talker, Maggie. Said he came from the best stock! Said the horses’ sire was from Prussia.” Amos recounted with a wistful expression when he spoke the foreign country’s name. His eyes were practically hidden under a set of wild and bushy brows, but the blues of his irises pierced through like the spring sky; clear despite his age.

“Prussia? Seriously? And you believed him?” Maggie scoffed in frustration, but not at Amos. He was kind hearted despite his gruff and silent exterior, and more often than not, would help out even the most desperate of men looking to score a few dollars from the sale of an old nag or lame mule. However, 250 dollars for this particular horse was nothing more than a scam. “I reckon you got swindled, old man. What did they look like? Do you know where they’re staying?”

The young woman’s hands quickly fought the leather straps of her farrier apron as she untied the tight knots with bumbling fingers calloused from a year of manual labor. Once free of its constraints against her waist, she set the apron down on a stack of hay, and hurried around the stable to gather up her meager belongings. Her clothes, threadbare and stained, consisted of nothing but a simple button up and a faded pair of mens trousers. Clothes given to her from Amos’ youngest son, Matthew, who was the closest to her size.

“He said they’re gonna be around town. I think I saw the younger feller go to Smithfield’s after. But, that was yesterday when you’s was helpin’ out at Emerald Ranch. I don’t quite remember what they looked like.” Amos watched the young woman grab her gunslingers hat, and place it atop her short cropped hair. “Nah hold on there, Missy! I know what you’re thinkin’. Mags, It’s not worth the hassle. Why don’t we call it a lesson learned, an’ move on. Plus, what I do remember was the younger fella looked mighty rough and dangerous. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a lady such as yourself getting caught up in that sort of thing. Again.”

Amos threw his hands up in defense and followed the young woman to try and stop her. He even tried to block her from leaving the stable entryway with his own body as an obstacle, but he knew from watching her grow over the years in that small town, that when Maggie Keane had her mind set on something—-there was no stopping her. She grimaced and pushed through her employer's arms into the muddy streets of Valentine.

“I’m sorry, Amos, but I can’t let them get one over on us. It’s not right. It’s the principle of the matter.” Maggie adjusted her hat, and made her way to Smithfield’s to find this young feller and get Amos’ money back.

“Since when did you care ‘bout principles?!” Amos called out after her. Maggie only laughed in response and quickened her pace towards the Saloon.

She would get that money back, one way or another, that's for damn sure.

———————————————-

“Well, I’ll be! Miss Maggie Keane!” Roy exclaimed loudly over the sounds of his piano.

The time of day did not matter much to the patrons who chose to spend their meager day’s worth of hard earned wages at Smithfield’s on booze and women. The sun could be rising in the east or setting in the west, or even switch it’s position all together, but the swinging doors to the most popular Saloon in Valentine would not stop opening and closing as if a summer breeze straight from the mountains blew through them every moment of the day. However, instead of receiving the pleasant aroma of fresh mountain air mixed with the light touches of blooming wildflowers, a strong wave of the putrid smell of whiskey, musk from dirty men, and stale vomit greeted her nostrils with enough pungency to burn them.

Maggie did not miss it.

Nor did she miss the incoherent chatter from drunken fools, the stickiness of the bar that seemed to permeate the wooden countertop no matter how much she scrubbed, and especially the fragments of glass that left her fingers bleeding because she would have to gather each jagged piece painstakingly by hand after yet another drunken brawl between two wasted worthless pieces of—-

Stop.

Maggie reminded herself that it was not worth the frustration that held heavy on the forefront of her mind which came with the process of remembering her time spent at Smithfield’s. It had been a year since she walked out those double doors—- vowing never to return, and life was different.

She was different.

And yet…here she was once again. Under different circumstances, of course.

Still, the one thing Maggie missed was the sound of Roy’s piano which often provided her some meager semblance of humanity during the many long and sleepless nights spent in whisky's sweet embrace. Those melodic tones, just like Amos’ methodical sweeping, allowed her to maintain her fragile sanity. Whatever was left of it, at least.

Reluctantly, the young woman entered the bar with a grimace she did not attempt to hide behind false smiles. She allowed it to paint itself fully across her features as she tried her best to avoid most of the intense stares from drunk patrons she, unfortunately, recognized while she surveyed the perimeter for any sign of an unfamiliar face amongst the sea of locals she had become quite familiar with. Maggie’s hands gripped the smooth leather of her satchel so tight that they left indents, but the thoughts of her racing mind calmed when Roy turned from his piano, smiled a toothy smile at her, and changed the tune he was playing to her favorite song, ‘A Picture of Her Face’ by Scott Joplin. She smiled back weakly, and nodded a subtle thank you. He acknowledged her with his own slight nod, and Maggie proceeded. It was nice to see that she still had at least one friend left at Smithfield’s.

“Evening, Cliff.” Maggie spoke with a layer of exasperation coated in each word. She approached the bar, and leaned against the sticky counter the same way she had done many times before. “How’s business?”

Cliff Smithfield grinned through his thick, black mustache while his hands quickly poured the young woman a shot of liquor from the stash he kept hidden for himself underneath the counter. Not only was Cliff the bartender at the establishment, but he owned the Saloon named after himself since he opened his double doors back in 1898. The question she asked in regards to his work was more rhetorical than literal. Maggie knew how business was. She heard it every night from the repetitive and rage fueled rantings from her dear uncle, Walter Keane…the owner of the failing Keane’s saloon just down the muddy street.

“I’m pulling through,” Cliff began, his hands pushing the tiny shot towards the young woman to take. Maggie eyed the man with suspicion, but ultimately figured the gesture was his way of settling old scores. Or, it was an attempt to butter her up for the long anticipated conversation she had worked so hard to avoid. “What brings you back into my—what did you call it?”

“—Infected boil on the ass of Valentine.” Maggie took the shot, and threw it back with ease. She missed the burn, but did not miss the never ending hangovers she kept at bay between the many shots of bourbon and brandy she would take throughout the day.

“Yes, that was it.” Cliff laughed though his voice still seethed with a slight hint of bitter resentment. After all, they did not end on a particularly good note. “But, No matter. Bygones be bygones. How can I help you, Maggie.”

Maggie removed her hat, and ran her hand through her short hair. Cliff's nose wrinkled, and he shook his head with a gust of breath from his nostrils in disbelief. Maggie opened her mouth to recount her quest to retrieve Amos’ money, but was cut short when a large hand reached out and touched her.

“I can’t believe you butchered your beautiful hair with that…mens cut.” Jon, local drunk and over all insufferable degenerate, pawed at Maggie’s chocolate brown head of hair with little regard for her own opinions on the matter. He wore his traditional get up of old furs, leathers, and a raccoon hat with an almost empty bottle of whiskey in hand. He swayed like a ship at sea with each moment he spent touching, and staring, at the young woman’s displeased face. Maggie swatted his hand away and turned her face to ignore him in an attempt to stick to her original plan. Jon huffed and leaned his full weight against the bar all the while ignoring the subtle looks Cliff shot him to mind his manners. “You always was the most prettiest with your thick locks. Shame. Now you look like one of them…carpet munchers. Or a boy. You tryin’na be a boy now, Maggie?”

“It’s good to see you too, Jon, but I’m busy.” With one hand, Maggie pushed the older man gently and watched with glee as he tumbled to the floor like a stack of dominos. He groaned as his drink spilled over his furs, but gave in to his drunkenness to ultimately pass out where he laid prone on his back like a starfish. Now that her harasser was out of the way, she turned her attention back to Cliff who was motioning for Tommy to gather up what was left of Jon and his dignity. Tommy, thick and broad, gave Maggie a hefty pat on the back before completing his task, and setting the man in a chair near his usual table.

“It’s never a dull moment with you here, Mags.” Cliff said, pouring her one more shot. Maggie accepted it once more, waving to Tommy who returned to his place on the second floor.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make a fuss.” She responded through her teeth after the burn of the liquor subsided. “But, I’m here looking for an outsider.”

“An outsider?” Cliff lifted a dark brow in surprise. “What for? He owe you money or somethin’?”

“No. Well, kind of.” Maggie straightened herself, and noted the familiar pull from the counter stickiness along the fabric of her blouse. Yes sir, same old stickiness. “The bastard conned poor Amos Levi out of $250.00 for a run down shire past his prime. I wanted to have a…conversation with him, and I figured he’d probably be here, Y’know, spending his score on some cheap booze or Anastasia’s pussy..”

Cliff allowed a hearty laugh to escape from deep within his lungs, and Maggie smiled. These were the kind of moments that she had wished to be the majority when she worked at Smithfield’s, but it wasn’t.

“You haven’t changed, that’s for sure.” Cliff attended to a patron quickly by opening a bottle of whiskey for the man, but never broke eye contact with Maggie’s eyes that were as gray as a thunder cloud. “Unfortunately, we’ve had quite a few strange men coming in and out of here the past week. I don’t know if they’re all together or what not, but it might be hard to pin down your stranger without knowing exactly what he looks like.”

“Amos said he looked mighty dangerous.” Maggie grinned, and watched as Cliff's expression changed from jovial to concern across his aging features. He released a sigh and planted both hands on his counter to support his weight. He shook his head, and looked up at her.

“Mags, now, I know you. Known you since you were a tiny tot roaming around town in her Sunday dress, rolling in the mud with Amos’ bigger boys, and causing mischief. But, you gotta remember—you ain’t a bigger boy. You shouldn’t be runnin’ around looking for trouble.” Cliff explained. “One of these days, you might get yourself caught up in a whole heap of bad news. And, since you’re not one of mine anymore, I can’t be paying your bail when that happens like I used to.”

“I never asked for you to pay my bail.” Maggie responded shortly.

“It’s not about the bail, Maggie. Haven’t you done enough to tarnish your family’s hard work and reputation? Hell, your grandpappy built practically each house here in Valentine by himself! Your cousin, Hugh, has done well for himself at the Hotel. Why don’t you work for him as one of his—-bath girls. Or, why don’t you come back and work for me? We miss you, Magpie. I miss you.”

Magpie.

“So, it’s more becoming of me to sell my pussy than to work as a farrier?” Maggie rolled her eyes as far back as she could, and Cliff rubbed his growing frustration from his own tired eyes.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No, no. I understand exactly what you meant. This backwards hovel of a town would rather have me lose my hair to syphilis than make horse shoes—makes all the sense.”

“Maggie, you’re a woman. There ain’t no shame in doing what women are supposed to do.” Cliff extended his hand across the counter and held Maggie’s trembling fingers. She wasn’t trembling out of fear or a slight chill, but out of seething rage. “You don’t even have to work. We could revisit that conversation we had. Y'know, the one we had before you left? Please, Magpie. Think about it.”

Magpie. There it was again.

“Don’t call me that.” Maggie pulled her fingers free from Cliff's fingers, her own causing friction as her calluses scraped along his smooth flesh. His hands were soft, and never experienced a time where he had to work hard for food or shelter. Never had to sell his body and soul just to survive.“I told you never to call me that.”

“I never understood why you never liked it. It’s your name, darlin’.” Cliff reached for her again, but stopped when the doors of the Saloon opened with such force that Maggie was sure a stray horse had entered the parlor room on accident. It wouldn’t have been the first time, unfortunately.

However, what sauntered across the muddy floor boards was not a horse, but two men. The first was a Latino gentleman who donned a relatively fashionable outfit of blues and grays with facial hair he meticulously maintained. He wore a black bowler hat, and his hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. He was a handsome gentleman, and his smile was the most captivating aspect of him that she could outwardly see.

The second, who followed loosely behind his friend with steps that were unusually silent for a man his height, was a Native man with long and unkempt hair that flowed freely over his shoulders. His expression was stoic across his strong and dark features and his eyes carefully observed the Saloons' busy atmosphere. His skin was darker than most of the other Indeginous individuals she had encountered from time to time when they drifted through Valentine and Maggie assumed that he must have been of mixed race. He was handsome, and Maggie liked the way he carried himself. Calm and collected.

Both gentlemen had no qualms with entering the Saloon occupied with white, backwards yokels who eyed the two with suspicious intent, and Maggie found the change of pace refreshing. If only these interesting men had shown up back when she worked here. She was sure they’d have interesting pillow talk about their travels and she wouldn’t mind ruffling the feathers of a few racists who might say otherwise. Regardless, they were Strangers to Valentine and both looked just as dangerous as they did unfamiliar. After all, Maggie was looking for a strange man and there was a good chance hers might be one of them.

“Maggie, don’t…” Cliff growled. He watched Maggie smile mischievously, steal a shot of whiskey that belonged to a patron passed out at the bar, and begin to walk up to the men for an impromptu interrogation. Both gentlemen were talking amongst themselves with welcoming expressions, but before she could reach them…

“Well, hello there. Aren’t you two boys a mighty sight to behold!”

Anastasia..

“Great…” Maggie grumbled under her breath, stopping short of her walk to her targets who stood against the wood panel wall.

Anastasia was the best of Cliff’s working girls, and was by far the prettiest woman in Valentine since the town was established years ago. With hair like fire and skin as white as a delicate lily, the young woman had no problem pulling even the toughest of mountain men to her room on the second floor for a night of liquor fueled heavy petting. Her bed was always full, and in turn, her pockets as well.

When she descended from the second floor, she wore her white chemise loosely around her bust and shoulders in a way that accentuated her god given assets which she pushed to her chin with a tight corset. The beauty approached the two strangers with a dark haired young woman trailing her not far behind, giggling like two unsullied girls in church.

Maggie had met the other girl only a few days prior to her departure, but her name slipped her mind. It must have been something like—Daisy or Marigold. Who knew? All the girls changed their names when they became a soiled dove. In fact, Anastasia was called Anne before she started at Smithfield’s around the same time Maggie did. But, Maggie was always Maggie and she never bothered with changing her name. After all, the town already knew her, and her family’s, name.

Her presence was not overlooked though, and Maggie’s dark eyes locked with Anastasia’s, and for a moment, it felt like the rift between was not as wide as it had been when she left. There was a time when it was Maggie trailing Anastasia to get the leftovers she didn't want…and there was a time when she foolishly thought that they were friends. Maybe more. But, regardless of how their—-arrangement ended, Anastasia was the best Valentine had to offer and she definitely earned her pay. Maggie still admired her for her abilities in the bedroom. However, most men who were lucky enough to be graced by her presence typically ended up at the fists of Tommy when they realized, a little too late, that Anastasia charged a pretty penny for her pristine pussy.

Maggie took an empty seat next to a sleeping patron, and watched with a grin as Anastasia worked her magic on the strangers. A little touch here, a batted eyelash there—-and finally, the melodic laugh that broke through the incoherent chatter like church bells at whatever joke the Lantino gentleman had said which sealed their fate. She half debated about warning them of the hefty fine they were about to receive thanks to man's inability to think with more than one head at a time—-but, Damn, it only took Anne less than five minutes before she was walking with the dandy, arm in arm, to the bar. The new girl—well, not as new anymore—copied Anastasia, and took the Native man’s arm as well.

“So much for getting my money back.” Maggie mumbled, her arms crossed tightly against her well endowed chest. She too had assets similar to Anastasia, and knew exactly how to use them. However, she did not miss working at Smithfield’s. And so, she sat for a few minutes and watched as the two men fell into the comforting embrace that whiskey provided with open arms. With each shot they downed, the lighter she imagined their pockets would feel. Anastasia had a system, and used whiskey to her utmost advantage.

Once or twice, Maggie made eye contact with the Native man as he looked over the Saloon, time and time, again. She was unsure of what he was looking for exactly. A friend? An enemy? Regardless, she made sure to greet his welcomed gaze with a slight smile. Each time, he seemed taken aback by her forwardness and turned to face his friend and the ladies who entertained him with a slight rush of color to his cheeks. It wasn’t the whiskey that made him flush, and it was adorable. Still, smiling at random men was an unfortunate habit she was unable to break. For years, even before Smithfield’s, Maggie was trained to be as approachable as humanly possible. After the third time of meeting the man’s intense eyes, Maggie saw Anastasia flash her an expression that said,

‘Stop fucking this up and leave. Now.’

Maggie let a chuckle escape her lips before she lifted an almost full bottle of whiskey to her own lips. It wasn’t hers, a little flat from being open for so long, but she didn’t care. It brought her satisfaction to know that even with hair cropped as short as a man’s, clothes stained and threadbare, and with the smell of horse that permeated her at all times—-she could still manage to pull a man’s attention with nothing more than a sweet smile.

Part of her hoped the dark skinned man would approach her, prove to herself that she was still worth his time and conversation. As well, it had been some time since she had been with a man, and he was handsome. She wouldn’t mind a quick social call with a stranger she would never see again, but she knew better. She let her eyes meet his one last time before she couldn’t help but feel a tug at her heart when her former friend tossed a glance her way yet again, but this time pleading for her to leave once more.

Suddenly, she remembered the many nights they spent together, lying awake into the early hours all the while laughing about the poor love making of whatever John they had serviced until they heard the familiar call of a rooster to start their day all over again.The memories were too difficult, and after another few minutes, Maggie decided it would be in her best interest to let the ghosts of her past stay buried underneath deep layers of regret and shame to be forgotten once more. A year was not long enough to heal the wounds that still festered and oozed within her infected soul. She decided it was time to cut her losses, make due with what she could get out of selling the beat up Shire, and go back to forgetting this place of pleasure ever existed.

Maggie sighed, lifted herself from her station, walked to the familiar swinging doors of the Saloon, and readied herself to leave. When she was about to place her hat on her head, her body collided heavily against a man whose intention was to enter the Saloon she desperately wanted to leave. She fell back onto the dirty floor, and cursed under her breath. Her hand stung and a drop of blood formed from where a stray nail had caught the flesh of her palm during her attempt to cushion her fall.

“ ‘Scuse me, Miss..”

Maggie’s assailant’s voice was gruff, and had a thick accent similar to those from further out west, but she could not see him due to how tightly she had closed her eyes from the sudden pain. She sucked air through her teeth, and fought to control her initial reaction of rage from the unpleasant stinging sensation. After a moment, she took a deep breath and sighed. When she opened her eyes, the man who stood before her was handsome as well, rough around the edges, and donned the attire to fit his cowboy aesthetic. All the way down to the beat up gamblers hat he wore atop his shaggy mop of sandy blonde hair. His eyes were just as blue, if not bluer, than Amos’. His hand was extended, waiting for her to accept his assistance. After a moment, she obliged.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t think I’d be running into anyone.” He apologized, lifting the woman to her feet with ease.

“Don’t worry about it.” Maggie mumbled as she brushed the dirt and debris from her rear. “I should have been more careful.”

The man allowed a smile to tug at the corner of his mouth before he turned to survey the bar. Maggie thought that the crows feet that appeared at the corners of his eyes were charming. What was with all these interesting strangers waltzing into Smithfield’s? It was not like Valentine was as big or as popular as Saint Dennis. No, it was very unusual for a stranger, let alone three, to visit their tiny town. However Maggie was so caught up in inspecting the stranger the same way she did her horses, with intensity, that she didn’t realize that the man was waiting for her to say something. She felt the color rush to her cheeks, and her mouth went dry.

“Aay! Arthur!” The Latino man exclaimed after taking a shot with Maggie’s former friends. Once again, the Native man watched her and the color stayed on her cheeks. “Come meet our new friends! After all, this is all on your tab since you’re $250.00 richer!”

250.00? That was the exact amount Amos had spent on that horse.

The stranger, Arthur, tipped his hat to her before turning on his heel to join his companions at the bar. Anastasia’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of him. He was most definitely her type, and Maggie knew the woman was just bubbling to the brim with joy over the fact that she now had three men to lighten their wallets on her. Maggie brushed the dust from her hat before she nursed the blood that began to weep from her wound.

“I think we should extend that offer to the lady you just knocked over, Arthur.”

#rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 fanfiction #rdr2 #arthur morgan x oc #arthur morgan x original female character #dutch van der linde #arthur morgan #fanfic #rdr2 arthur morgan #Charles smith rdr2 #rdr2 charles #charles smith x OC #charles smith x original character

[born-to-kill]

hi! the mun’s name is joel and i am currently 26 years old.

Exploring themes of identity and self-discovery in a world rife with conflict and moral ambiguity.

RULES

Respect: Let's all treat each other with respect and courtesy at all times. Refrain from personal attacks, and avoiding any behaviour that may be considered disrespectful.

No Godmodding: Avoid controlling or dictating the actions or outcomes of other characters without their consent. Everyone has the right to have agency over their own character's actions and decisions.

Stay True to Character: Stay true to the established personalities and traits of the characters from the Metal Gear series. Try to accurately portray the character you're role-playing as.

Communication: Keep communication open and transparent. If there are any disagreements or misunderstandings with my portrayal, try to resolve them civilly through discussion and compromise.

Quality over Quantity: Focus on the quality of your role-play posts rather than the quantity. Take the time to craft your responses as there is no pressure to rush things out.

Stay In-Character: When posting as your character, stay in-character and avoid breaking immersion by discussing real-life topics or using modern language or slang that wouldn't fit within the setting of the Metal Gear series.

Have Fun: Above all, remember that role-playing is a collaborative and creative endeavour meant to be enjoyable for all participants.

BIO

Name: Raiden (real name: Jack)

Alias: Jack the Ripper, White Devil, Snake's Disciple

Background: Raiden, born Jack, was originally a child soldier in Liberia during the early 1980s. He was conscripted into a rebel army at a young age and forced to commit acts of violence and brutality under the command of his superiors. These traumatic experiences shaped him into a skilled and ruthless fighter, earning him the nickname "Jack the Ripper" for his prowess on the battlefield.

Joining the Military: After being rescued from the battlefield by Solidus Snake, Raiden was taken under the wing of the Patriots, a secretive organization manipulating global events from behind the scenes. He underwent extensive physical and mental conditioning, including cybernetic enhancements and VR training simulations, to become a highly skilled operative capable of carrying out the Patriots' agenda.

Shadow Moses Incident: Raiden's first major mission came during the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005, where he was deployed as part of a top-secret operation to infiltrate a nuclear weapons disposal facility in Alaska. Under the guidance of Solid Snake, Raiden faced off against a rogue group of terrorists led by Liquid Snake, uncovering a web of conspiracy and betrayal that would shape his destiny for years to come.

Big Shell Incident: In 2009, Raiden was assigned to the Big Shell, an offshore clean-up facility in the Hudson River, as part of a counter-terrorism operation known as "Operation Snake Eater." However, the mission quickly spiraled out of control when a group of terrorists seized control of the facility, threatening to detonate a nuclear bomb. Raiden, operating under the codename "Snake," was tasked with infiltrating the Big Shell and neutralizing the threat.

Revelations and Betrayal: During the course of the Big Shell Incident, Raiden uncovered shocking revelations about his own past and the true nature of the Patriots' control over his life. He learned that his memories had been manipulated and that he had been groomed from a young age to become a pawn in the Patriots' grand scheme. Feeling betrayed and disillusioned, Raiden struggled to come to terms with his identity and his place in the world.

Rebirth and Redemption: Following the events of the Big Shell Incident, Raiden underwent a period of self-reflection and transformation. He sought redemption for his past sins and resolved to break free from the control of the Patriots once and for all. With the help of allies such as Solid Snake and Otacon, Raiden embarked on a journey of self-discovery, ultimately reclaiming his humanity and forging a new path for himself.

Becoming a Cyborg Ninja: In the years that followed, Raiden underwent further cybernetic enhancements and became known as the "Cyborg Ninja," a formidable warrior with superhuman strength and agility. Embracing his new identity, Raiden continued to fight against tyranny and oppression, using his skills to protect the innocent and uphold justice wherever he went.

Fatherhood and Personal Trials: Despite his tumultuous past, Raiden found happiness and purpose in his relationship with Rosemary, a data analyst he met during the Big Shell Incident. The couple eventually married and had a son named John, whom they affectionately called "Little John." However, Raiden's newfound happiness was short-lived as he faced personal trials and challenges, including the abduction of his son by a mysterious organization known as Desperado Enforcement.

Continued Struggle and Legacy: Throughout his journey, Raiden continued to struggle against powerful adversaries and forces beyond his control. He faced off against rogue military units, rival mercenaries, and even his own inner demons as he fought to protect those he held dear and preserve the fragile peace of the world. Despite the hardships he endured, Raiden remained determined to forge his own destiny and leave behind a legacy worthy of the title he had earned as a legendary warrior.

Legacy: Raiden's legacy lives on as a symbol of resilience, determination, and redemption. His journey from child soldier to cybernetic ninja is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of hope in the face of adversity. Though his path has been fraught with hardship and sacrifice, Raiden continues to inspire others to stand up against injustice and fight for a better future for all.

VERESES

WIP

#pinned

[blazingfiredragon]

Jason Todd, a young man driven by tragedy, is thrust into the world of crime-fighting after a series of escalating events push him towards becoming a vigilante. With an undying thirst for justice, he dons a new identity and fights to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It was a stormy night in Gotham City, the rain relentlessly pounding the streets. Jason Todd huddled beneath a flickering streetlight, his clothes soaked, and his heart heavy. He had known despair since the day his parents were brutally taken from him, leaving him orphaned and alone. In this darkest hour, Jason sought refuge in an old abandoned theater known by Gotham's underworld as the Red Hood. Here, the streets seemed to whisper their secrets, and lost souls cried out for justice. It was during one such moment that Jason chanced upon a newspaper clipping about the Batman, a shadowy figure who fought tirelessly against the corruption that plagued their city. Fueled by grief and a burning desire for vengeance, Jason resolved to find the Batman and join his crusade. He spent years honing his combat skills, studying the art of stealth and surveillance, channeling all his anger into becoming a formidable force. As Jason ventured deeper into the underworld, he uncovered the truth behind his parents' murder. An infamous gangster named Tony Zucco had orchestrated the tragedy that had shattered his life. Consumed with a mix of fury and guilt, Jason realized that Zucco would never face true justice under the law. He would be yet another criminal who slipped through the cracks. Determined to make Zucco pay, Jason donned a red domino mask, symbolizing the theater that had become his sanctuary. Taking up the alias of the Red Hood, he set off to dismantle the criminal empire that had taken so much from him without consequence. The Red Hood soon made his presence felt, striking fear into the hearts of Gotham's underworld. His brutal tactics and unwavering resolve to eradicate crime earned him a reputation as a relentless vigilante. However, as he battled thugs and evildoers across the city, Jason started to question his methods. The distinction between right and wrong began to blur, and the line that separated him from the criminals he hunted became increasingly hazy. One fateful night, while confronting Zucco, Jason found himself face to face with the Batman. The Dark Knight had been keeping a watchful eye over his reckless apprentice, observing his methods before intervening. Batman knew that the path Jason was treading would lead only to darkness and despair. With equal measures of disappointment and compassion, Batman revealed his identity and took Jason under his wing, offering him a chance to become something more than just a vigilante consumed by vengeance. He became Robin, the Boy Wonder, joining Batman in his mission to restore hope in their city. Under Batman's guidance, Jason learned the true purpose of justice, the importance of restraint, and the potential for redemption. With each victory against crime, he felt the weight of his past lift from his shoulders. While the pain remained, it no longer consumed him. Jason Todd had transformed from a grieving orphan seeking revenge to a guardian determined to protect the innocent.

#Jason Todd #Story #Dc universe #batman #red hood #vigilante